Haymitch’s backstory to release date: All the juicy details of Sunrise on the Reaping

I’ve been waiting years to find out how Haymitch won the second Quarter Quell

2 weeks ago

Many of us big fans of The Hunger Games are still reeling from last November’s insane movie release, in which Suzanne Collins and Francis Lawrence brought us The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The movie was a huge success and I still have Olivia Rodrigo’s Can’t Catch Me Now on repeat. But the queen of dystopian YA fiction clearly doesn’t sleep; a brand new Hunger Games novel titled Sunrise on the Reaping will be hitting bookshelves in 2025. Are you trying to kill me, Suzanne Collins?! Here’s everything we know about the new Sunrise On The Reaping book.

What will the new novel be about?

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The Sunrise On The Reaping book will take place 24 years prior to the original trilogy, likely with previous victor Haymitch Abernathy in the depths of the second Quarter Quell. Suzanne has spoken publicly about what readers can expect from the new novel, explaining how power and submission inspired the story, as well as words by Scottish philosopher, David Hume. She said: “With Sunrise on the Reaping, I was inspired by David Hume’s idea of implicit submission and, in his words, ‘the easiness with which the many are governed by the few…’.

“The story also lent itself to a deeper dive into the use of propaganda and the power of those who control the narrative. The question ‘Real or not real?’ seems more pressing to me every day.” Set to release on the 18th of March 2025, it seems that Haymitch’s story will be taking a dark, politically charged turn in the new novel. We also learn about the circumstances around how Haymitch won the Games using the force field at the edge of the arena as a tool for killing the District 1 tribute with her own axe. The prequel will also detail how Haymitch’s mother, younger brother and girlfriend were all killed by President Snow just two weeks after he was crowned victor.

When will the film be released?

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Along with the forthcoming book release, Lionsgate has already announced plans to for a feature film which is set to hit theatres on November 20th, 2026. Francis Lawrence, the filmmaker behind the last four Hunger Games movies, is allegedly in talks to return to the franchise. “From the beginning, Lionsgate has been a wonderful home and partner for The Hunger Games franchise, and I’m very excited to be collaborating with Adam and the team as we bring this next story to theaters in 2026,” Suzanne continued.

Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chair Adam Fogelson also praised the announcement, “The Second Quarter Quell is legendary and looms large over the history of the Games, even into the time of Katniss Everdeen a quarter-century later. Like fans around the globe, we are eagerly anticipating this exciting return to Panem.”

How exactly did Haymitch win the second Quarter Quell?

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If you were anywhere near Tumblr in the early 2010s, you’ll know how demanded Haymitch’s story has been amongst fans. The ambiguous details of his story always seemed so interesting: In the trilogy’s second novel, Catching Fire, we learn that Haymitch competed in the 50th annual Hunger games, which contained double the regular number of tributes. The details of his win were brushed over in the film adaptations, but we know he was reaped along with District 12’s Maysilee Donner and two other tributes.

Haymitch and Maysilee formed an alliance, but went their separate ways once the number of tributes fell down to five, not wanting to be responsible for each other’s deaths. Maysilee was tragically killed by bird-mutts, and Haymitch held her hand while she died.

He used the forcefield at the edge of the arena to kill the final District One tribute with her own axe: As she threw it at him, he ducked and it bounced right back and killed her instead. He won the games on this technicality, which President Snow was not pleased by. When Haymitch refused to cooperate with the Capitol, they murdered his family and girlfriend. This fall from 16-year-old victor to washed up alcoholic a wild ride that fans are desperate to read.

In the meantime, everybody say thank you to Rachel Zegler!

you’re welcome guys https://t.co/KbMfebjJNZ

— rachel zegler (she/her/hers) (@rachelzegler) June 6, 2024

Whatever the new story brings us, rest assured that there’ll be plenty of political messaging, murderous plots and a brand new part of Panem history unfurled. May the odds be ever in our favour!

The Traitors UK season two is available on Amazon Prime. For more like this explainer on the Sunrise On The Reaping Book and for the best reality TV and entertainment news, like Pop Culture Shrine on Facebook.