'Hunger Games' prequel novel coming in 2020

Author Suzanne Collins will return to Panem for an untitled prequel set 64 years before The Hunger Games.

“Suzanne Collins is a master at combining brilliant storytelling, superb world building, breathtaking suspense, and social commentary,” Scholastic Trade Publishing President Ellie Berger said in a statement to The Associated Press. “We are absolutely thrilled — as both readers and publishers — to introduce the devoted fans of the series and a new audience to an entirely new perspective on this modern classic.”

The last Hunger Games novel, Mockingjay, released in 2010, and the last film hit theaters in 2015. Collins is reportedly also working closely with Lionsgate to bringing the prequel to the big screen, though there has been no public announcement of an official deal.

The untitled Panel novel will take place 64 years before The Hunger Games, in the years right after Panem's first rebellion (which failed and led to the supposed extinction of District 13).

“With this book, I wanted to explore the state of nature, who we are, and what we perceive is required for our survival,” Collins said. “The reconstruction period 10 years after the war, commonly referred to as the Dark Days — as the country of Panem struggles back to its feet — provides fertile ground for characters to grapple with these questions and thereby define their views of humanity.”

The Hunger Games prequel is set to publish May 19, 2020.