It’s a great Monday for Hunger Games fans — Suzanne Collins has announced that she is working on a prequel to her hit series to be released sometime in 2020.
The book is currently untitled, but we do know that it will take place 64 years before the start of the first book. It will very likely look at the formation of the titular games themselves as a punishment for
“With this book, I wanted to explore the state of nature, who we are, and what we perceive is required for our survival,” Collins said in a statement to The Associated Press. “The reconstruction period 10 years after the war, commonly referred to as the Dark Days — as the country of Panem struggles back to its feet — provides fertile ground for characters to grapple with these questions and thereby define their views of humanity.”
“Suzanne Collins is a master at combining brilliant storytelling, superb world building, breathtaking suspense, and social commentary,” Scholastic Trade Publishing President Ellie Berger said. “We are absolutely thrilled — as both readers and publishers — to introduce the devoted fans of the series and a new audience to an entirely new perspective on this modern classic.”
And, as reported by Variety, Lionsgate is ready and very willing to make a movie based off it once it comes out:
“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,” Joe Drake, chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said in their own statement.
Here is the working cover for the book:
The currently untitled Hunger Games book is set to hit all major book retailers on May 19, 2020.