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Hunger Games movie franchise director Francis Lawrence and his About:Blank Productions banner have signed a first-look production deal with Lionsgate.

With the Hunger Games series having generated nearly $3.7 billion in ticket sales worldwide for Lionsgate, Lawrence inked the producing deal with the major studio ahead of directing and producing The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, the next film in the franchise.

The first look deal announcement was made by Adam Fogelson, chair of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will go into production for Lionsgate in 2025, ahead of a planned worldwide release on Nov. 20, 2026.

Lionsgate has been keeping Lawrence and his producing partner Cameron MacConomy busy as they recently wrapped production on the studio’s The Long Walk, an adaptation of the Stephen King novel that stars Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson.

“Francis’ ability to marry incredibly compelling characters and emotions with exciting...

Hunger Games franchise filmmaker Francis Lawrence has signed a first-look producing deal with Lionsgate via his label about:blank.

Adam Fogelson, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair, made the announcement Wednesday.

Lawrence and his about:blank producing partner Cameron MacConomy recently finished production on Lionsgate’s The Long Walk, the feature take of the Stephen King novel starring Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson.

It was a year ago that Lawrence’s prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes opened, ultimately grossing close to $350 million worldwide and sending the Lionsgate feature series based on the Suzanne Collins novels to $3.7 billion in global tickets sales.

“Francis’ ability to marry incredibly compelling characters and emotions with exciting and visceral action and spectacle is exceptional. He’s also a thoughtful, committed partner,” said Fogelson. “We are beyond excited to deepen our relationship.”

“I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to make Lionsgate my home,...

Back in June, author Suzanne Collins announced that she was writing a new Hunger Games novel titled Sunrise on the Reaping. It's set to arrive in bookstores on March 18, 2025, and tells a story set 40 years after The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

Hours later, it was confirmed that a movie adaptation is also in the works and the actor who will play the young Haymitch Abernathy (a character portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the original trilogy) may have now been revealed.

According to Production Weekly (via SFFGazette.com), Challengers star Mike Faist may be in line to lead the cast of Sunrise on the Reaping. Given the source, we'd advise taking this with a pinch of salt; however, the publication has been known to share plenty of accurate casting intel in the past.

Faist has received widespread acclaim for his performances on stage, though we're sure many of you will...

Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson and their Color Force production company have singed a producing deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment, putting the Culver City lot in business with the producers behind such hits as The Hunger Games franchise, Crazy Rich Asians and award winning TV series Pose and American Crime Story.

“We are thrilled to have this overall film deal with Color Force. Nina and Brad have an amazing track record finding incredibly compelling stories, A+ (plus) relationships in town, the best taste and are just all-around terrific humans who know how to make film franchises,” said Sony Pictures’ Motion Picture Group Presidents Josh Greenstein and Sanford Panitch.

“We love making movies. That is why we are excited to make Sony Pictures our home base for feature films. Sanford, Josh, Tom, and the whole team have shown their commitment to filmmakers and the theatrical experience time and time again. We...

Color Force, the Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson-run banner behind The Hunger Games movies and Crazy Rich Asians, have signed a film producing deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment.

“We love making movies. That is why we are excited to make Sony Pictures our home base for feature films. Sanford (Panitch), Josh (Greenstein), Tom (Rothman), and the whole team have shown their commitment to filmmakers and the theatrical experience time and time again. We feel fortunate to have studio partners who are as energized about making movies as we are,” Jacobson and Simpson said in a joint statement.

Under Color Force, Jacobson and Simpson produced The Hunger Games franchise, which has grossed $2.9 billion worldwide for Lionsgate, and they were behind the box office hit Crazy Rich Asians for Warner Bros.

Lionsgate recently unveiled plans for a new Hunger Games movie, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, based on franchise...

The cast of The Hunger Games franchise could’ve looked slightly different.

Austin Butler revealed in a Buzzfeed interview with his Bikeriders co-star Jodie Comer, he revealed that he auditioned for but didn’t get a part in the hit movie series.

“I auditioned for The Hunger Games and I didn’t get it at all,” Butler said adding that he doesn’t even recall getting a “call back.”

He then revealed that he auditioned for the role of Peeta Mellark, the male tribute representing District 12 in the 74th annual Hunger Games, alongside female tribute Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence).

He added, “I don’t even think I got a call back; what’s the character, Peeta? Josh Hutcherson got that; he’s great.”

Hutcherson starred alongside Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth throughout the four Hunger Games films, with the films helping the trio become worldwide stars.

For her part, Comer revealed...

Austin Butler revealed in a video interview with BuzzFeed that he unsuccessfully auditioned to play Peeta in “The Hunger Games” franchise. The role ultimately went to Josh Hutcherson, who starred in four “Hunger Games” movies between 2012 and 2015 opposite Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss and Liam Hemsworth as Gale. The franchise turned the three actors into global stars.

“I auditioned for ‘The Hunger Games’ and I didn’t get it at all,” Butler said. “I don’t even think I got a call back, what’s the character, Peeta? Josh Hutcherson got that, he’s great.”

Butler was joined in the BuzzFeed video interview by his “The Bikeriders” co-star Jodie Comer, who revealed she has also missed out on a big franchise: “I auditioned for ‘Mamma Mia!’ That was a time, That was also when I was auditioning for ‘Killing Eve’ as well.”

At the time of the first “Hunger Games” movie’s production,...

The final The Hunger Games movie, Mockingjay Part 2, was released in 2015, and almost a decade later, lead star Jennifer Lawrence admits wanting to reprise her role as Katniss Everdeen. The famed dystopian movie franchise was based on the works of Suzanne Collins, and it remained one of the most definitive films of its genre.

Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay / Lionsgate

Apart from Lawrence, actress Jena Malone also expressed her willingness to return to the country of Panem. She played the courageous victor Johanna Mason from District 7 and has appeared in three out of four installments.

Jena Malone Wants To Do Another The Hunger Games Movie

During her interview with Et Online, Jena Malone exclaimed, “Come on, where’s Johanna Mason? I’m like, I’m just waiting,” when the topic of a possible The Hunger Games movie was mentioned.

After the prequel, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,...

Jena Malone would love to make another 'Hunger Games' movie.The 39-year-old actress played Johanna Mason in three 'Hunger Games' films, and Jena has revealed that she would relish the opportunity to reprise the role.Asked about the possibility of another 'Hunger Games' movie being made, Jena told 'Entertainment Tonight': "Come on, where's Johanna Mason? I'm like, I'm just waiting."Jena starred alongside the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Woody Harrelson in the original films.And the actress would now love to star in a spin-off movie.Asked about the prospect of making another 'Hunger Games' movie, Jena replied: "I mean, and let's not even do a prequel, let's do an after ... Let's see what happens in the world, you know, ten years later."Earlier this month, it was announced that 'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping' will be released in November 2026.Lionsgate...

A ranking of all The Hunger Games movies? We volunteer! We volunteer this tribute!

With the recent news that Lionsgate is developing a new Hunger Games movie based on Suzanne Collins’ forthcoming fifth novel in the saga (titled The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping), we figured it was time to reexamine all the previous journeys to Panem — which kicked off with the 2012 original and continued through three sequels (it should have been two, but more on that shortly) and one recent prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

The films launched the career of Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence as vulnerable-yet-steely rebellion hero Katniss Everdeen, who brought down the sinister gilded Capitol led by President Snow (Donald Sutherland) while fending off the interest of two hometown suitors, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and Gale (Liam Hemsworth). There were also ongoing themes of wealth and social inequality, which gave the saga some literary...

Los 50º Juegos del Hambre llegan a la gran pantalla. © The Hunger Games

¡Grandísimas noticias para los fans de “Los Juegos del Hambre”! La autora Suzanne Collins ha escrito un nuevo libro de su popular serie distópica, titulado “Amanecer en la Cosecha”, que se publicará en marzo de 2025. Y, como no podía ser de otra manera, también se ha anunciado una adaptación cinematográfica de la misma, titulada oficialmente “Los Juegos del Hambre: Amanecer en la Cosecha”.

Este nuevo episodio de “Los Juegos del Hambre” está ambientado en los 50º Juegos del Hambre, 24 años antes de que Katniss Everdeen se convirtiera en tributo, y 40 años después de que Lucy Gray Baird compitiera en los 10º Juegos del Hambre en “Balada de los Pájaros Cantores y Serpientes”. En estos juegos tan particulares, 50 jóvenes lucharon por sobrevivir y su superviviente como sabemos fue Haymitch Abernathy, el mentor de Katniss en el Distrito 12, interpretado...

Licorice Pizza star Cooper Hoffman is set to star alongside Industry’s David Jonsson in the upcoming adaptation of Stephen King’s The Long Walk.

An adaptation of Stephen King’s 1979 dystopian novella The Long Walk has been on the horizon for several years now meaning that fans of the book have faced a wait that has been even longer than the titular walk itself.

While The Long Walk might sound like the way you’d like to spend a sunny Sunday morning, rest assured that this isn’t that kind of stroll. Instead, envisage a futuristic dystopian society where young people enter a state-sanctioned murder fest, walking until they can’t walk anymore. When they fall, stumble or even slow down, they don’t get a cup of water or one of those silver blankets. In fact, their only reward is a quick (and televised) execution.

If it all...

Licorice Pizza star Cooper Hoffman and HBO Industry actor David Jonsson are currently in the mix to headline Francis Lawrence’s take on Stephen King’s The Long Walk for Lionsgate.

Jt Mollner (Outlaws and Angels) is writing the screenplay and will produce alongside Vertigo’s Roy Lee.

Deadline first reported that the big screen take of the 1979, King pseudonym penned Richard Bachman, novel was set up at New Line with André Øvredal directing from James Vanderbilt’s script. The rights lapsed in the summer of 2022, but also let’s not forget that New Line couldn’t pull off King’s Salem’s Lot, a movie shot for cinemas, but jettisoned to Max.

The Long Walk takes place in the future in which 100 teenage boys embark on an annual competition known as “The Long Walk.” The rules are simple: maintain a speed above 4 miles per hour. Receive three warnings in...

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping Movie Release Date and Everything We Know So Far - Main Image

Suzanne Collins is not done writing the story of District 12 victors as another prequel story is coming in the near future.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping movie will shed light on Katniss Everdeen's mentor, Haymitch Abernathy's time in Panem, and here's everything you need to know about their release date news and what story to expect from the novel and film.

Sunrise on the Reaping Release Date

Another The Hunger Games novel is coming out on March 18, 2025, as Suzanne Collins herself confirmed. Sunrise on the Reaping will serve as her fifth novel in her The Hunger Games franchise.

Ahead of the book's debut, Lionsgate has already set the schedule for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping to hit theaters on November 20, 2026, which means it is relatively a shorter...