Hunger Games: Billy Ray Returns to Adapt “Sunrise on the Reaping” for 2026 Release

by Annika April 2, 2025

Billy Ray, the Oscar-nominated writer of the original Hunger Games film, is returning to the blockbuster franchise. He has been commissioned to adapt Suzanne Collins’ latest bestseller, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, into a screenplay for the next movie installment. The film already has a global release date of November 20, 2026.

Hunger Games: Billy Ray Returns to Adapt “Sunrise on the Reaping” for 2026 Release

– Oscar-nominated writer Billy Ray has been enlisted to write the screenplay for the next Hunger Games film, adapting Suzanne Collins’ latest book ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’.
– The film is due out on 20th November 2026 and is being directed by Francis Lawrence, with filming expected to start in July.
– The new book in the Hunger Games series sold more than 1.5 million copies globally in its first week, the highest figure for any installment according to Scholastic.

The Oscar-nominated writer, known for his work on the 2012 blockbuster sensation, has been chosen to craft the script for the upcoming chapter of the cinematic series, by adapting Suzanne Collins’ latest hit The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.

This announcement was made on the famous Colosseum stage within Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, during Lionsgate’s presentation on Tuesday morning. As reported earlier, Francis Lawrence will be directing The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, with a planned worldwide launch for Nov. 20, 2026. During its CinemaCon presentation, Lionsgate also displayed the animated logo for the awaited film.

Lawrence took the stage to express that the book might be his favorite from the successful series due to its breathtaking story complete with a surprising twist. The film’s shooting is expected to start in July, with the casting process already underway. “We’ve spent a year refining the draft, mostly in secrecy,” said Lawrence.

The book is set in the Hunger Games world, tracing back to 24 years before the initial Hunger Games events. The story commences on the morning of the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games, also referred to as the Second Quarter Quell, in which Haymitch Abernathy (played in the previous movies by Woody Harrelson) competes. The production of the film is managed by Color Force’s Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson, with Cameron MacConomy being the executive producer. Meredith Wieck and Scott O’Brien are supervising the project for Lionsgate, and the deal with the studio was arranged by Phil Strina.

But Billy Ray’s writing role isn’t the only buzz around Sunrise on the Reaping this month. As reported last week by The Hollywood Reporter, Scholastic confirmed Collins’ new book of the Hunger Games series had sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide in English — including print, e-books, and audiobooks — in its first week in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, surpassing earlier series entries.

Ray has previously collaborated with Collins and Gary Ross on the first Hunger Games film, which grossed nearly $700 million globally. His other notable accomplishments include an Oscar nomination for Captain Phillips, featuring Tom Hanks, and work on Shattered Glass, Flightplan, and others.

His future projects include the movie Animals, presently in production with Ben Affleck. His debut novel, Burn the Water, gets released by Scholastic Books on March 3, 2026.