New Hunger Games book and film: Exploring propaganda and power

After the not-so-successful premiere of "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" (rather underwhelming financial results and average ratings by viewers and critics), "The Hunger Games" series will be expanded with another book and film. What do we know about the project?

It hasn't even been a year since the film adaptation of "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" premiered, and writer Suzanne Collins and Lionsgate studio have already officially announced that a new book and film in the "Hunger Games" universe are in the works.

The fifth instalment of the series has been officially titled "Sunrise on the Reaping." It will first hit bookstore shelves on 18 March 2025 and then debut on the silver screen on 20 November 2026.

Both pieces of information were confirmed over a few hours on 6 June. First, Collins announced the new book, and shortly after that, Lionsgate confirmed that it still holds the rights to the franchise, and the film adaptation will be developed in parallel with the book. According to the Associated Press, director Francis Lawrence will return to helm the project, having been responsible for all previous films in the series except the first one.

The information about the nearly immediate film adaptation is also somewhat interesting considering the rather disappointing financial results of "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes", which, with a budget of around £82.6 million, earned £279 million in the global box office. Considering marketing costs (usually close to the film's budget) and distribution costs (usually, about half of the ticket sales revenue goes to the filmmakers, the rest to the theatres), the production may not have even broken for Lionsgate. Well, it seems that the studio still believes in the power of this brand.

As for the content of "Sunrise on the Reaping", the story will be set 24 years before the original trilogy but 40 years after the events of "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes". From the information provided in previous instalments, we know that "The Hunger Games" was won by Haymitch Abernathy, played by Woody Harrelson in the original trilogy. There is a chance that Haymitch will be the main character.

Although Collins herself did not want to delve deeper into the plot details, she revealed the main theme of her upcoming project:

"The story also lent itself to a deeper dive into the use of propaganda and the power of those who control the narrative. The question ‘Real or not real?’ seems more pressing to me every day," Collins announced.