Posted in: Lionsgate, Movies | Tagged: francis lawrence, the hunger games, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping Will Film Later This Year

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping director Francis Lawrence says they'll film shoot later this year but can only prep so much until the book is released in March.

We are getting another entry in The Hunger Games, both in book and movie form. The book, titled The Hunger Games: Sunruse on the Reaping, is coming out in just a couple of weeks, and the movie is set to be released in late 2026, right around the same time as the previous film. Director Francis Lawrence is also returning to the franchise yet again, and none of this should be surprising to anyone. The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes was massive as both a book and even bigger as a film. Lawrence recently did an interview with Collider where they asked him about how things are going with the prep for the film, and he revealed that they are in a bit of a holding pattern until the book comes out in March, but they will be shooting later this yea,r and he's excited to return to this world.

"Yeah, I'm shooting that this year. So we've actually just sort of started prep. The book comes out mid-March. We've sort of got a research phase of prep. After London, I'm going to go on a scout, and then we start prepping in April, and we shoot this year," Lawrence said. "I'm really, really excited for it. It's always great to go back and to work with Nina [Jacobson] and Suzanne Collins. It's such a great world and great stories and great, always super relevant thematics, which always ground it. But, yeah, very, very excited."

Much in the same way as the last film, Sunrise on the Reaping will be following a character that fans met in the first set of books and movies. When you're casting that kind of character, you need to absolutely nail it, or people will pitch an absolute fit. It sounds like Lawrence isn't quite looking for people yet for Haymitch Abernathy, saying, "I will say it's, like, it's tricky because, you know, the book's not out, so only people know generally what it's about. I think there was an excerpt that was put out, and Suzanne maybe has a quote out there about what the thematics are. So we're, like, we're researching a little, but yeah, like, we can't put, you know, scenes out or anything like that, yet." The Hunger Games has a dedicated fanbase, but the last movie proved that there is an audience for these films beyond established fans. If this movie manages to pull that off, too, who knows how many more of these we'll see?

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping Book Summary

Summary: "Sunrise on the Reaping will revisit the world of Panem twenty-four years before the events of The Hunger Games, starting on the morning of the reaping of the Fiftieth Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell.

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes. Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves. When Haymitch's name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He's torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who's nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he's been set up to fail. But there's something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena."

While The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes' success will likely shut up anyone who does the whole "who asked for this" dance, this is your reminder that Rachel Zegler very much asked for Sunrise on the Reaping to exist.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!