Suzanne Collins’ new “Hunger Games” prequel, “Sunrise on the Reaping,” will be released Tuesday, March 18.
The new novel, “Sunrise on the Reaping,” will take readers back to the world of Panem, beginning “on the morning of the Fiftieth Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell,” according to the synopsis.
Here is what to know before it is officially released.
Is ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ about Haymitch?
In a summary from Goodreads, it reveals that the new book will focus on Haymitch and his experience as a tribute in the 50th Hunger Games.
The events of the book will take place 24 years before Katniss volunteers for her younger sister and 40 years after the events of “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” according to Deseret News.
USA Today states that readers will meet his younger brother, Sid, and his mother, and reveals that his father died in the same mining accident as Katniss' dad.
In a short excerpt of the book read by Collins, fans got an early look at a character that has “such an important role in Haymitch’s life,” Lenore Dove. She is described as “quiet in public” but “can talk up a storm in private,” making it hard for him to keep up with her at times.
“As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail,” reads the summary from Goodreads. “But there’s something in him that wants to fight ... and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.”
It can also be suggested from the Goodreads summary that fans will not only learn more about only drives Haymitch to fight in the Games, but what drives him to become a key player in the rebellion many years later.
USA Today also reported that larger discussions about the power of the ruling class and propaganda will be present in “Sunrise on the Reaping.”
What we know about Haymitch from the ‘Hunger Games’ books
When we first meet Haymitch, he has been the mentor and only victor for District 12 for 24 years — until he is joined by Katniss and Peeta.
In “Catching Fire,” we learn that, at age 16, Haymitch became a tribute in the 50th Hunger Games — also known as the Second Quarter Quell — which featured twice the usual number of tributes, totaling 48.
During the Games, Haymitch formed an alliance with another District 12 tribute, Maysilee Donner, but she died. Maysilee is the original owner of the mockingjay pin and her niece gives it to Katniss in the first book, according to USA Today.
Upon making it to the final two, Haymitch was able to secure his victory by strategically using the arena’s force field against his opponent, per Deseret News.
However, President Snow felt humiliated by this clever win and, in an act of retaliation, he had Haymitch’s family and girlfriend killed two weeks after the victory. This loss caused the young victor to turn to alcohol for solace, per Deseret News.
Will ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ be made into a movie?
“Sunrise on the Reaping” will be made into a screen adaptation, People reported, and is set to be released on Nov. 20, 2026.
Discussing Film also announced on X that director Francis Lawrence will begin preparations for the new movie in April.
Lawrence was the director for all the previous movies — except “The Hunger Games” which was directed by Gary Ross — and is expecting to begin shooting sometime this year, according to People.
However, before then, Lawrence was faced with a similar challenge to casting a young President Snow (Tom Blythe) as he is now in finding the right person to play a young Haymitch.
“It’s a search and you have to dig down and figure out what are the elements that make Woody (Harrelson) so interesting, right?” Lawrence told ComicBook in December 2024. “And some of it is humor. Some of it is intelligence. Some of it is quirk. Some of it is, there’s a darkness in him that gives him an edge.”
He continued, “We’re looking for someone who has all of that. It’s not somebody that just looks like him, or is going to study Woody Harrelson and just act like him. When Tom Blythe played Donald Sutherland, he wasn’t doing an impersonation. We had to find somebody that was believable that you could be like, ‘Oh, okay, I see how this guy over 70 years could turn into Donald.’”