Hope. It is the only thing stronger than fear. And if you were hoping for even more of The Hunger Games beyond The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes prequel releasing in November, the odds are absolutely in your favour.
The first ever stage adaptation of Suzanne Collins' wildly popular 2008 novel The Hunger Games is coming, set to open on London's West End in autumn 2024, per The Hollywood Reporter. Written by Olivier-winning playwright Conor McPherson and directed by 2:22 – A Ghost Story's Matthew Dunster, the play will bring the first novel in the series to the stage.
If you don't remember what happened in the first book or the 2012 film starring Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games is a dystopian thriller set in the nation of Panem, where Battle Royale-inspired brutal survival games are staged between teenagers in the wealthy Capitol. The competitors are all "volunteers" from twelve less wealthy districts, basically killing each other for the entertainment of the aristocracy. One of these tributes, Katniss Everdeen, takes her young sister's place in the games, and from here enters a world of corruption, violence, highly theatrical costumes, propaganda, rebellion, and...unexpected love.
SEE ALSO: On TikTok, 'The Hunger Games' is a metaphor for our modern dystopiaBut yeah, essentially teens are forced to murder other teens for sport and political prowess. How they'll do this on stage is beyond us, but we volunteer as tribute to find out. But the themes of Collins' story are more resonant than ever.
“In a world where the truth itself seems increasingly up for grabs, The Hunger Games beautifully expresses values of resilience, self-reliance and independent moral inquiry for younger people especially," McPherson said in a statement reported by THR.
Jennifer Lawrence as the bow-savvy Katniss Everdeen in the 2012 film. Credit: Lionsgate/Kobal/ShutterstockIt's really no surprise to see further exploration into The Hunger Games in yet another arena. The prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, starring Tom Blyth as a young Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as District 12's Lucy Gray Baird, hits cinemas in November. In March this year, after the four Hunger Games movies hit Netflix, the series saw a resurgence in popularity on TikTok. Mashable's Elena Cavender investigated the series becoming a metaphor for our modern dystopia on the platform.
"A lot has changed since The Hunger Games peaked in popularity, making it ripe for re-examination," Cavender wrote. "Many of those partaking in the resurgence are revisiting the series for the first time as adults grappling with the climate crisis, social upheaval, and a global pandemic. How do our 2023 adult sensibilities transform our understanding of a beloved childhood franchise?"
It's another buzzy moment for West End adaptations of popular series, with a prequel of Netflix's Stranger Things set to open Nov. 17 in London's Phoenix Theatre.
There's little information about The Hunger Games play so far, besides a website where you can sign up for updates. In the meantime, want to revisit The Hunger Games movies? Here's where you can watch 'em.
