There’s a new Hunger Games book on the way, and it’s coming next year. The new book is rumoured to follow the events of the 10th Hunger Games.
The first book came out way in 2008 and followed the 74th Hunger Games, it set the path for a very successful trilogy, and an even more successful film series.
The as-yet untitled book will be a prequel, taking place 64 years before the first book, meaning it lines up perfectly to explore the 10th Hunger Games.
The question is of course, why choose the 10th Hunger Games as the backdrop for the novel? What made it special? The 10th Hunger Games was won by ‘Griffin Naysmith’, a District 2 resident. The world of Hunger Games has a main nation called Panem, which has 13 districts, with each district having a different socio-economic standpoint. District 2 is where the ‘warriors’ of Hunger Games often come from.
The winner of this Game earned the nickname ‘The Beast’, for his brutality and use of an axe and machete. This kind of character provides the ideal setting and atmoshpere for what the book is aiming to explore. It’s intended to focus on the state of human nature, looking into such a bloody character then is fitting.
The Games also take place 10 years after the ‘Dark Days’, the time where the first rebellion against the Panem government was crushed. It was after the ‘Dark Days’ where the Hunger Games was formed as pushiment for the rebellion. The book, acting as a 10 year anniversary to this fact, may very well touch on the issues around forced violence.
The author of the book and series, Suzanne Collins explained the timeline a bit further to Associated Press:
“…the reconstruction period 10 years after the war, commonly referred to as the ‘Dark Days.’ She plans to explore “the state of nature, who we are, and what we perceive is required for our survival,”
She goes onto explain that the period known as the ‘Dark Days’ “provides fertile ground for characters to grapple with these questions and thereby define their views of humanity.”
Sadly being set in the past, we can’t logically expect to see Katniss or Peeta (the main characters of the original Hunger Games trilogy), which also means no Jennifer Lawrence in a film adaptation.
As for the film, Hunger Games films producer Lionsgate has explained that “We’ve been communicating with her during the writing process and we look forward to continuing to work closely with her on the movie.”
It could be a little while before we see a movie then, though a 2020 release for the new novel isn’t that long a wait.
