In 2008, Suzanne Collins released the first book of her soon to be Trilogy, The Hunger Games, taking the world by storm. The novel entered the New York Times Best Seller list for over 100 consecutive weeks. Following the success of the first book, Collins then published the following novels of the trilogy, Catching Fire in 2009, and Mokcingjay in 2010. The series has a total of 100 million copies sold and formed one of the largest fan bases a book series has ever seen. Riding on the hype of the trilogy, a movie adaption was made for the first book in 2012, making 2.9 billion dollars in box office sales. Three movies followed to end the trilogy.

It is safe to say the Hunger Games series has continued to have a loyal fan base even decades after its initial release. Though the book series came out over 15 years ago, the franchise is still frequently talked about on social media platforms like Instagram and tiktok. The movie series is also commonly rewatched. 

However, a recent announcement of a new movie joining the Hunger Game franchise brought even more fans of the series out to celebrate this news. During the Lionsgate event at Cinemacon, the fourth movie of the Hunger Games series, The Ballad of Song Birds and Snakes, will be released in theaters on November 17th, 2023. This new movie is a prequel to the original Hunger Games, set 63 years before the first film. Fans will see the origin of President Snow, the main antagonist throughout the series. Many are excited to see a new subplot to the movie and find out more about the origin of the complex character that made him into the villain he was. Sydney Bell (12), a fan of the Hunger Games series, comments on her feelings for the new movie, saying that she is “excited to learn more about young President Snow.” 

To increase the excitement of the new movie, streaming platforms like Hulu and Amazon Prime have recently added the four movies of the series, allowing people to rewatch these movies leading up to the release of the new one. Hunger Games fans from far and wide also took to social media to express the excitement and anticipation of this new movie. Being a fan of the Hunger Games series myself, my For You Page on Tiktok was filled with videos regarding the new movie, as well as resurfacing videos of the old movies. 

Mark your calendars, Hunger Games fans! Be sure not to miss out on the release of The Ballad of Song Birds and Snakes,  coming to theaters November 17th.