Summary
President Snow’s prequel story inspired several big theories regarding his character, and I’m hoping the upcomingThe Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reapingconfirms one in particular. This newest prequel of theHunger Gamesfranchise will be set 40 years after the events ofThe Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, so it should cover Haymitch Abernathy’s 50th Hunger Games. We already know quite a bit about these particular games, but there is a great opportunity here to fill in some of the gaps left in what has already been revealed by theHunger Gamesbooks.
In theCatching Firebook, Katniss and Peeta watched recorded footage of the 50th Hunger Games, which included the bloody details of Haymitch’s victory against his 47 opponents.The District 12 tribute had taken advantage of the magnetic forcefields surrounding the arenato launch a weapon into his final opponent’s skull, which was certainly not what the Head Gamemaker would have intended. As punishment, Haymitch returned home to find all his loved ones dead. It’s a tragic story, and oneSunrise on the Reapingis sure to explore. However, a great deal of this has always struck me as odd.
Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping Release Date, Story, Updates & Everything We Know
Suzanne Collins has announced details about the upcoming novel in the Hunger Games series, which will be titled Sunrise on the Reaping.
Snow’s Anger At Haymitch’s Victory Makes More Sense If The 50th Games Were His Creation
Haymitch’s Hunger Games story has always left me with various questions, but there is one theory that would answer most of them. Haymitch specifically said inCatching Firethat Snow was responsible for the deaths of his loved ones, but when I first read this,I didn’t understand why his using the magnetics to kill an opponent would make the president so angry. Sure, this wasn’t how the arena was meant to be used, but, if anything, this would only have made the games more exciting for the Capitol audience. However,Ballad of Songbirds and Snakesprovided some hints.
We know that, after his experience with Lucy Gray, Snow would have had a significant reason to hate District 12. Therefore, a boy from this District coming in and winning the games through unconventional means—just as Lucy Gray did—would have been enough to elicit an emotional response from the dictator. Still, the decision to murder all of Haymitch’s loved ones was extreme. Snow was known to use his victors' loved ones as leverage against them, but his punishment made this impossible in Haymitch’s case. Something must have made Snow so angry that he didn’t stop to think about the consequences.
TheSunrise on the Reapingbook will be released on August 15, 2025, while the movie is expected to hit theaters on June 12, 2025.
The only thing I know that would explain Snow’s thoughtless rage would be personal stakes inthe 50th Hunger Games. The dictator had already been president for decades by this point in theHunger Gamestimeline, but it’s possible that he would have returned to the role of Head Gamemaker for the highly significant Quarter Quell. He might have seen the 50th Games as a blank canvas on which he could create his bloody art—an opportunity for the greatest Hunger Games Panem had ever seen. Naturally,a District 12 tribute spitting on his efforts would have been enough to set President Snow off.
The Arena For The 50th Hunger Games Fits Perfectly With President Snow’s M.O.
The Beautiful But Deadly Quarter Quell Arena Was Just Snow’s Style
The theory that President Snow was the Head Gamemaker for the 50th Hunger Games makes perfect sense when considering the unique details of these games. As a Quarter Quell, the rules were different this time around, and twice as many tributes were reaped from each District. Then, these 48 children were thrown into the most beautiful arena that Panem had ever seen. There were rolling green fields, impossibly blue skies, glimmering mountain peaks, and bubbling waterfalls. However,everything in sight, from the grass to the adorable animals, was poisonous.
The deceptively beautiful arena full of poison reminds me of Snow’s fragrant roses that don’t entirely cover the rotting scent of blood during Katniss' story.
Poison was President Snow’s weapon of choice. This was made evident in both the centralHunger Gamestrilogy, which revealed thatSnow’s affinity for poison was causing his decline, and in theBallad of Songbirds and Snakesprequel, wherehis character realized that poison was a far more sophisticated method of murder. This fact, in particular, convinces me that thisHunger Gamestheory is true. The deceptively beautiful arena full of poison reminds me of Snow’s fragrant roses that don’t entirely cover the rotting scent of blood during Katniss' story.
A Haymitch Prequel Is Even More Intriguing After Snow’s Origin Story
After Katniss' story, I was among those requesting a Haymitch prequel and was surprised to get Snow’s origin story instead. Still, this isn’t to say I wasn’t pleased.The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakeswas an intelligent prequel that passively added a stronger foundation to the centralHunger Gamesstory. It also retroactively made the details of Haymitch’s games more intriguing, which naturally meant I was even more eager to see this story told in another prequel. Now that Collins has officially confirmedSunrise in the Reaping, I am absolutely giddy.
If the theory thatSnow was the Head Gamemaker for the 50th Hunger Gamesis correct, then a prequel covering Haymitch’s victory simply wouldn’t have worked as well withoutThe Ballad of Songbirds and Snakescoming first. The president’s old romance withLucy Gray was necessary before diving into howanothervictory from a District 12 tribute would affect the leader of Panem. Of course, I trust Collins to create a great story nonetheless, but I hope to seeSunrise on the Reapingcreate more delicious connections with Snow’s overarching tale.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping
Cast
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping explores the dystopian world of Panem 24 years prior to Katniss Everdeen’s story. This prequel focuses on the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games, known as the Second Quarter Quell, unveiling the origins of crucial events and traditions in the series.
