It was quite a day for fans of the "Hunger Games" franchise. First, a new novel in the popular young adult fiction series was published, and then soon the film adaptation of its fifth book was confirmed. The odds are very much in the favor of this fanbase right now. 

"Sunrise on the Rape" by author Suzanne Collins will be released in novel format in 2025/3/18, and the film version is scheduled to be released in theaters in 2026/11/20, so it will be released in about 20 months. Naturally, the film will adopt the same title as its source material and will be released as "The Hunger Games: Sunrise of the Reaping."

Beyond a single social media post confirming the big-screen adaptation and its release date, there is nothing else known and cast information about the "Hunger Games: Sunrise of the Harvest" movie, and it has not been announced whether long-time franchise helmer Francis Lawrence will return to the director's chair (according to Variety). Based on the 2023 interview

little is known about the film, but we can assume that there is some extra information about the novel and logically these details will take over. According to publisher Scholastic, "Harvest Sunrise will revisit Panem's world 24 years before the Hunger Games event and begin with the morning of the 2nd Annual Hunger Games reaping, also known as Quell in Q50."

Avid fans will know that the 50th Hunger Games were won by a certain Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson is portrayed in the film). Fans have been demanding books/movies that focus on Haymitch's game for years. But "Catching Fire" explains how he managed to win his game, which Collins instead chose to talk from a different perspective

In any case, the return to Panem will be greatly welcomed by fans and the general audience as well. The franchise's latest film, The Hunger Games: Songbird & Snake Ballad, is a prequel exploring the early years of the ruthless ruler President Snow (played by Tom Bryce), and he could also feature in "The Reaping Sunrise," as the story is set during his tyrannical reign. Whether Bryce will return to the next "hunger Games" movie is not confirmed at this stage. 

In order for avid readers not to spoil the surprise, cast details may not be officially announced until the novel is released, but we expect further details to trickle in over the next 1 month. For the same reason, the production date of the film may be scheduled for 2025/3 or later. 

If this new trip to the dystopian world of Panem has you in the mood to re-watch the franchise's previous entry, here's the "Hunger Games"