Lionsgate is in talks for a Hunger Games prequel movie as author Suzanne Collins is set to release a new novel in May 2020, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“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,” Joe Drake, chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, shared in a statement on Monday.
Scholastic will publish the prequel, which is set 64 years before the beginning of the original novel and timed with the reaping of the Tenth Hunger Games.
On writing another novel, Collins said, “With this book, I wanted to explore the state of nature, who we are, and what we perceive is required for our survival. The reconstruction period ten years after the war, commonly referred to as the Dark Days—as the country of Panem struggles back to its feet—provides fertile ground for characters to grapple with these questions and thereby define their views of humanity.”
A prequel has long been discussed at Lionsgate as a prospect. The studio debuted the first of four films based on the Hunger Games novels in 2012, which featured Jennifer Lawrence and collected almost $3 billion at the global box office.
The studio adaptation saw Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) sent to the Capitol to fight for their lives. The Hunger Games franchise also starred Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, and Elizabeth Banks.
