The Hunger Games Fans Divided Over Upcoming Prequel’s Main Character Choice

The Hunger Games ’ franchise has just got an exciting update having officially greenlit a movie adaptation for Suzanne Collins’ upcoming book titled The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, but not everyone in the fandom seems to be that happy about it.

So far there haven’t been so many details revealed either about the book or the film, yet it was made clear that the new installment would take its readers (and then viewers) back to the times of the 50th Hunger Games where Katniss Everdeen’s future mentor Haymitch Abernathy became the first female victor from District 12.

Previously, Haymitch has in fact been quite a frequent choice for getting his own movie when it came to fans’ discussions about whose story from the original trilogy they would love to hear next, though, now that the character is surely getting his own film, some fans found such a choice not the best option possible.

Following Suzanne Collins and Lionsgate’s almost simultaneous announcements about the upcoming book and movie, a new Reddit thread was started by a user who claimed that Haymitch and his participation in the Hunger Games is probably “the least interesting prequel idea we could get.”

“We know the whole story. We literally had the scene where Katniss watches the whole thing in Catching fire. We know that Haymitch will ally himself with his district partner, we know that she'll die and how exactly that will happen, we know how he'll use the arena to his advantage... Suzanne Collins could have written a book about any Hunger Games out of more than seventy we know happened and nothing beyond that, and I'd be all over that. Instead, she chose the one games we have a detailed account of,” Redditor TrollHumper said.

Other users were quick to get involved in the discussion expressing their agreement or disagreement with the initial comment. Another fan agreed with the opinion about the main character’s choice, but also suggested that there will be a completely different angle.

“I agree that we don’t need Haymitch’s games because we already got it. But I personally am excited because I don’t think this book will be about Haymitch’s Games, or at least not directly about him. Obviously it will take place during that time, at least partially,” added Redditor cookieaddictions.

Others also pointed out that there had been almost the same talks when The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes had first been announced, though eventually it turned out to have immense success with the public and everyone quickly forgot that they’d ever had doubts about the movie.

Overall, most of those who took to the thread to dwell on the news admitted that there’s a solid reason for trusting Suzanne Collins and her choices. Many still coincided in their thought that the upcoming book won’t necessarily make Haymitch its one and only focus, but will rather go further exploring Panem’s authoritarian politics that turned a useless game of survival into something that the media covers in a very specific (usually not truthful) way and celebrates as if it was some kind of real feast.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will arrive to bookstores worldwide in spring of 2025 while the movie of the same name is set to be released on November 20, 2026.

Source: Reddit