Summary

  • "Sunrise on the Reaping" occurs 40 years after "The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes."
  • This prequel is set 24 years before the first Hunger Games book, focusing on Haymitch's victory in the Second Quarter Quell.
  • The novel starts at the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games, revealing more about Haymitch's past.

Suzanne Collins has secretly been working on a new Hunger Games movie adaptations, Collins brought readers back to the world of Panem with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

Sunrise on the Reaping will be released on March 18, 2025.

Many were surprised to learn that the first Hunger Games tale Collins explored after Mockingjay was Coriolanus Snow's origins. However, once The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was published, it soon became clear why the villain's story had to be told and how intriguing it truly was. After the prequel was released and the film adaptation premiered, many wondered if the author would continue writing one-off novels and speculated which narrative Collins could (and should) explore. Thankfully, Collins seemingly listened to fans and is now debuting Sunrise on the Reaping, which revolves around one of the best Hunger Games characters.

Sunrise On The Reaping Is Set 40 Years After The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes

Sunrise On The Reaping Takes Place 24 Years Before The First Hunger Games Book

Sunrise on the Reaping will chronicle the Second Quarter Quell, Lucy Gray Baird winning the 10th Hunger Games.

Hunger Games Book

Timeline

Release Date

The Hunger Games

74th Hunger Games

September 14, 2008

Catching Fire

75th Hunger Games (Third Quarter Quell)

September 1, 2009

Mockingjay

The Second Rebellion

August 24, 2010

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

10th Hunger Games

May 19, 2020

Sunrise on the Reaping

50th Hunger Games (Second Quarter Quell)

March 18, 2025

The Hunger Games book is also set 24 years before Haymitch mentored Katniss and Peeta during the 74th Hunger Games. As fans will recall, when the District 12 tributes meet Haymitch for the first time, he's a helpless drunk who has resigned himself to believing Katniss and Peeta would die, so, there was no use helping them. Of course, over time, he began to see their potential, but readers will learn more about why Haymitch turned out the way he did once Sunrise on the Reaping is published.

A custom image of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, and Coriolanus Snow and Lucy Gray Baird in Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.
Related
12 Biggest Ways The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes Connects To The Hunger Games

The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes serves as a prequel to the first four Hunger Games movies and contains plenty of connections to the other films.

What We Know About The Hunger Games Era Sunrise On The Reaping Is Set In

The Hunger Games Novel Begins The Morning Of The Second Quarter Quell's Reaping

Woody Harrelson as Haymitch looking sideways in The Hunger Games

As of the writing of this article, all that is officially known about Sunrise on the Reaping is that it starts on the morning of the reaping for the 50th Hunger Games. However, a handful of other details about this era are known, thanks to previous books. The 50th Games was also the Second Quarter Quell, which designated that each district offer up twice the amount of tributes, meaning that four children would represent each district instead of two. So, in total, Haymitch's Hunger Games featured 48 tributes, and Woody Harrelson's character in the Hunger Games movies outlasted them all.