The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will continue a franchise trend by following Haymitch Abernathy into the arena — and although Haymitch is the last surviving character to fit this pattern, another book could technically still embrace it. Sunrise on the Reaping is slated to debut on March 18, 2025, and while there’s no word on another addition to the Hunger Games franchise, readers weren’t expecting this prequel or even The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Suzanne Collins could still publish another story set in this world, though it would differ from the others in one big way.
Every story in The Hunger Games franchise has followed District 12’s winners, whether it’s Peeta and Katniss in the original trilogy, Lucy Gray in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, or Haymitch in Sunrise on the Reaping. The Hunger Games is clearly committed to this trend, but the franchise will be out of District 12 winners to follow after Haymitch’s prequel. That could render another novel impossible, or it could force Collins away from District 12’s perspective. Of course, there’s another option, but it would make the next Hunger Games book way more devastating.
Sunrise On The Reaping Doesn’t Need To End The Hunger Games’ District 12 Trend
The Franchise Can Tell More District 12 Stories
Sunrise on the Reaping doesn’t technically need to end the franchise’s pattern of following a District 12 tribute, as there are plenty of others to choose from — they just don’t survive their time in the arena. At the beginning of The Hunger Games, Katniss notes that the later Districts’ tributes don’t typically win the Games, as they’re malnourished and don’t receive much training. The franchise covers the few characters from District 12 who do overcome the odds, but there aren’t any other winners that we know of.
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Still, it could be worth following one of the District 12 tributes who loses the Games in a future Hunger Games book. Just because such tributes’ stories aren’t as hopeful as Katniss’ doesn’t mean they aren’t worthwhile. Arguably, they would demonstrate the cruelty of the Games and the Capitol even better, as they’d highlight the unequal treatment of the various districts and show the norm for District 12. Handled properly, this could be the right change of pace from previous books, but it would also prove more emotional.
The Next Hunger Games Book Continuing The Franchise’s District 12 Trend Would Make It Way Sadder
It Wouldn’t Have Its Predecessors’ Spark Of Optimism
While Sunrise on the Reaping doesn’t need to end the Hunger Games franchise’s trend of following District 12 tributes, its shift away from winners would make the next book way sadder than its predecessors. Katniss and Peeta have a relatively hopeful experience in their first tournament, and their overall story has a positive ending in Mockingjay, even if it takes a lot of tragedy to get there. Lucy Gray’s ambiguous fate also leaves room for hope, as does the fact that she makes it out of the Games.
If Collins chooses to write another Hunger Games novel from a District 12 POV, it won’t have that spark of optimism.
Haymitch’s will be the saddest Hunger Games story thus far, but knowing that he’ll go on to mentor two survivors and witness the rebellion’s success puts a hopeful spin on it. If Collins chooses to write another Hunger Games novel from a District 12 POV, it won’t have that spark of optimism. It could still work, but it would paint a far bleaker picture than ever before.
The Hunger Games
- Created by
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Suzanne Collins
- Cast
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Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Lenny Kravitz, Willow Shields, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth, Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman