If there’s one thing we’ve learnt from modern cinema, it’s that franchises never really die.
And now it looks like another is to be revived, as it’s reported a fresh Hunger Games book and film are in the works.
Suzanne Collins, the series’ author, has said she is planning to release a prequel novel next year, while Lionsgate already have plans in place to adapt the book into a movie.
The new novel, which doesn’t have a title as of yet, will be published by Scholastic Books in 2020. While the studio, Lionsgate, are said to have been working with Collins during the writing process, so they’re obviously keen to keep the franchise alive in cinemas.
Joe Drake, chairman of Lionsgate, said in a statement via The Hollywood Reporter:
As the proud home of the Hunger Games movies, we can hardly wait for Suzanne’s next book to be published. We’ve been communicating with her during the writing process and we look forward to continuing to work closely with her on the movie.
So far, the only plot details to be released are when the prequel is set – 64 years before the events of the first book. This timeline would put it in place for the tenth annual Hunger Games – the violent battle royale in which two tributes, usually aged between 12 and 18, from the 12 districts of Panem, fight to the death until there is only one survivor.
Of course, the 64-year time period would essentially rule out any actors from the original films making an appearance. However, this will mean we get to look forward to a new cast and, potentially, an entirely new take on the dystopian world.
The franchise’s first four films were huge hits for Lionsgate, bringing in a combined $2.96 billion worldwide during the 2012-2015 period in which they were released. Since then, however, the studio has struggled to find a franchise to match – except for John Wick, of course.
The original series of Hunger Games films starred Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Stanley Tucci, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks and Donald Sutherland, as well as a turn from the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman.
No release date for the film has been announced just yet, though with the book said to be hitting shelves next year, and with the studio already working with the author, we can expect it to appear not long after.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.