The Hunger Games
has taken a unique approach to expanding the franchise, with the Haymitch prequel proving that the series is avoiding a common Hollywood mistake. Suzanne Collins’ series of popular young adult novels developed a huge following in a period when Hollywood was focused on adapting stories within that space, and despite the original series of movies ending in 2015, the hype surrounding it remains. The original Jennifer Lawrence films helped to launch Lawrence’s career, and in the years following, Collins has expanded on the world of Panem.
In 2020, Collins released a new book in the series, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, which almost immediately began development on a film after its release. Now, Collins is back at work writing another prequel novel, тιтled The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, which is set to release in March 2025, before the film adaptation comes out a year later in 2026. Evidently, the studio has faith in Collins’ work, and it’s a fresh approach to expanding franchises in Hollywood compared to most other franchises.
Hunger Games Favoring Prequels Over A Reboot Avoids A Controversial Hollywood Trend
The Franchise Takeover Has Completely Changed The Cinematic Landscape
From an era of adapting popular sci-fi and fantasy novels aimed at young adults, to the modern era of Hollywood where almost every new release is part of a larger franchise, it’s no secret that sequels and mega franchises are flooding the film landscape. Studios are putting their faith and money into projects that are familiar to audiences, with characters and settings they recognize, instead of investing in fresh new ideas, which are increasingly pushed out to the independent spaces and film festivals. The result is ever expanding franchises, and IPs that continue to dominate, pulling in big money for Hollywood, but not necessarily showcasing creativity or originality.
And this only appears to be getting more prominent and rapidly. Movies like Harry Potter were released between 2001 and 2011, and now, less than 15 years later, the series is being rebooted with a TV series. Disney has taken classic animated films and remade them into live-action, and superhero universes continue to expand. But, in the face of all this, The Hunger Games is approaching things a little differently, while still expanding its own IP and satisfying the requirements set in place by Hollywood’s insatiable craving for more familiar IPs on the big screen.
Hunger Games’ Haymitch Movie Confirms The Franchise Is Doubling Down On The Prequel Strategy
Looking Back At Important Moments In The Panem Timeline
And The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is doing exactly that. The prequel is set to follow Haymitch, in a brand-new era for the games, during his compeтιтion 24 years prior to the original novel. The movie is also set to star a young Haymitch, as he participates in the 50th Hunger Games. This comes on the heels of the success of the Coriolanus Snow prequel, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, which was set even further back in time. And while both movies expand on the original stories, and even bring back popular characters, they feel new and fresh.
The prequel is set to follow Haymitch, in a brand-new era for the games, during his compeтιтion 24 years prior to the original novel.
This is achieved by putting these familiar characters in significant and compromising positions, at pivotal moments in their lives. Corio was an evil monster in the original movies, but seeing him grow up, rejected by his peers, and feeling sympathy towards those competing in the games, it felt like something completely new. Haymitch’s prequel is set to be equally enlightening, which is a breath of fresh air compared to franchises that take familiar characters, put them in more of the same situations, and hope the audience will return again and again.
Why Remaking The Hunger Games Movies Would Be A Mistake
Hunger Games Doesn’t Need A Remake Less Than 15 Years Later
But even beyond adding numerous sequels, highlighting every last inch of the main characters’ lives, many franchises have opted to reboot. Moana, after being released in 2016, is now being rebooted as a live-action movie, while the sequels for the original series are still in the works. Harry Potter, which concluded its original movie run in 2011, is being remade as a six-season TV series highlighting each year of Harry Potter’s time at Hogwarts. And beyond that, other franchises like Ghostbusters, DC, and The Fantastic Four have tried to reboot and reinvent themselves numerous times.
The result is a confusing landscape of movies that all tell similar stories, and characters who have every inch of their lives examined from numerous angles. With that in mind, doing something similar for The Hunger Games would be a mistake. Sure, it might be able to earn a decent sum at the box office, but it’s also contributing to the increasingly bland cycle of movies coming to cinemas. While the prequels are set in the same universe, and they will feature common elements like the Hunger Games, the characters are presented in a whole new light. It builds and adds to the original stories, and helps to keep the entire series in vogue.
How The Hunger Games Franchise Can Keep Expanding Without A Reboot
Panem Has A Lot More Untapped Potential
And while there is a real risk of even this approach becoming tired and overused, there is a whole world to explore in Panem. Franchises like Star Wars have always revolved around characters like the Skywalker family until recently. The Harry Potter movies focus on Harry and his friends, before branching out in The Wizarding World to someone like Newt Scamander. And the Godzilla movies always see giant monsters fighting it out, typically with Godzilla and Kong in prime positions. But the world of Panem is intriguing enough to explore numerous different sides. For instance, the different Districts, the history of Panem, and the wars that led to the first Hunger Games, and stories about other victors.
All of these elements are rich and ripe to explore. Where the original movies focused on District 12, and Katniss Everdeen, Songbirds & Snakes put more focus on the Capitol. The snippets that have been seen of other Districts, like the destroyed and exiled District 13, District 1 and 2, where people literally train to compete in the games, and more could all create the basis for intriguing and compelling stories in The Hunger Games franchise. There is a lot that has yet to be seen in Panem, which makes The Hunger Games the perfect franchise to expand with spin-offs or prequels that shift the focus away from District 12, and even the Games themselves.
