Suzanne Collins is releasing a prequel to her best-selling Hunger Games trilogy

If you are wondering where Suzanne Collins has been in the decade since the Hunger Games trilogy was completed, it was revealed today that she has been quietly working on a prequel set in Panem and to be published next year.

Currently known simply as Untitled Panem Novel, the prequel will be set 64 years previous to the world of Katniss Everdeen as we knew it. It will look back on a time closer to the beginning, on the morning of the Tenth Hunger Games.

Image Credit: Bastian Almonte via Flickr

Collins and her publishers are remaining tight-lipped regarding any further details of the plot of the next novel in the multi-million-selling series, but did reveal it would focus on the ‘Dark Days’, following the failed rebellion in Panem.

• Article continues below...
• More stories you may like...
• Does the 21st Century still need Herman Melville?
• Lessons we can learn from the creator of Peter Rabbit
• 5 of the best YA fantasy books of 2019 so far

In a statement, Collins said this reconstruction period following the war “provides fertile ground for characters to grapple with these questions and thereby define their views of humanity.”

Whilst the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group did not respond when asked if film rights had been officially agreed, it has been confirmed that a movie version will follow suit. Chairman of the group, Joe Drake, said in a recent statement to The Associated Press: “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.”

The billion dollar movie franchise of the bestselling trilogy featuring Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth was an instant hit, with the narrative told over four movies.

While there is also no information regarding exactly who the characters will be in the prequel, it can perhaps be presumed that some of these will be the ancestors of the now well-known Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, and Gale Hawthorne. One Twitter user also hoped for the return of a young Mags.

The news follows Stephenie Meyer’s attempt to reintroduce her own bestselling book series, Twilight, with Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined for its tenth anniversary in 2016, to little success.

However, judging by the reaction of fans of Collins’s trilogy on Twitter, this author will have little to worry about.

Suzanne Collins disappearing after the success of The Hunger Games and then casually dropping this bombshell on us is the power move of the decade. https://t.co/cXSPM1QU64 pic.twitter.com/Gvj0czlwEg

— aentee no peak clan + poppy army (@readatmidnight) June 17, 2019