The stakes are higher than ever when it comes toThe Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, the upcoming novel and movie that is facing immense challenges as a standalone story and representing the franchise as a whole. ThenovelSunrise on the Reapingand the confirmed movie adaptation to follow will depict a teenage Haymitch Abernathy as he is chosen via lottery to participate in the 50th Hunger Games. Haymitch is, obviously, destined to win, even in the second Quarter Quell when the odds are worse than ever, with the Capitol demanding twice as many tributes.
This is the secondHunger Gamesprequel Suzanne Collins has delivered some time after the golden age of her saga has died down, the first beingThe Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Like its most recent predecessor,Sunrise on the Reapingstands to explore different nuances of the tyrannical government and the lives of the people living under it in Panem,with some notableparallels between Haymitch and Katniss, the victor and revolutionary he will one day mentor. Yet drastically different circumstances forSunrise on the Reapingmean even higher standards for its producers.
Ballad of Songbirds and Snakeswas the first book/movie outside the mainHunger Gamesseries and is seemingly far more detached from the original narrative thanSunrise on the Reaping, following an 18-year-old, future President Coriolanus Snow amid the events of the 10th Games and his mentorship of the until-then unnamed first-ever District 12 victor, Lucy Gray Baird. The book notably did not lead to some major revival of theHunger Gamesfranchise. The movie, led by Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler, was a box office hit, but nothing like the glory days of theHunger Games, with mediocre reviews.
2012
84%
$695,220,619
2013
90%
$865,011,746
2014
70%
$759,159,711
2015
$661,456,867
2023
64%
$348,900,019
Sunrise on the Reapingarguably has greater potential to succeed, following a character who was much more popular among theHunger Gamesfandom than President Snow. Fan-favoritecharacters who should have their ownHunger Gamesprequelshave long been discussed, andthis seems likeThe Hunger Gamesfinally giving the fans what they want.However, this is also why there is much more to lose forSunrise on the Reaping, with greater hopes for it to be game-changing — especially when fans more or less know everything that happens in the story.
The Upcoming Haymitch Prequel Could End Up Deciding The Fate Of The Hunger Games Franchise
Lionsgate Will Be Less Inclined To Produce Finnick & Johanna’s Movies If Sunrise On The Reaping Flops
Collins' return to writingHunger Gamesstories was somewhat surprising, andshe has been non-committal about her plans to write additional prequels followingSunrise on the Reaping.However, those who would love to see standalone installments focusing on Johanna, Finnick, Mags, and other characters may have to hinge their hopes on the success ofSunrise on the Reaping. Collins' vision for her story aside, Lionsgate’s desire to keep producing these movies is dependent on the money it is bringing in when its potential to be a massive cultural phenomenon seems long past.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping Really Can’t Copy One Aspect Of Katniss' Story With Haymitch
Sunrise on the Reaping needs to not repeat The Hunger Games' love triangle when it would be even worse for the characters in the prequel.
The Hunger Gamesseems to still have enough cultural goodwill to get enough people to come to the movie theaters to turn a profit, and the most likely fate forSunrise on the Reapingis probably a box office result similar toBallad of Songbirds and Snakes. But, it could also completely flop, not an uncommon occurrence for even genuinely good movies in today’s industry. This is in addition to many complicated story nuances and a much larger cast due to the circumstances of these games, which could spell perhaps a return to form for theHunger Games, or an unprecedented failure.
