Suzanne Collins Is Writing a Hunger Games Prequel

Suzanne Collins has announced plans to publish a prequel to her Hunger Games series in 2020, a full decade after the original trilogy concluded. You know what? I’ll allow it.

The Associated Press reported that this new installment in the franchise will be set in the aftermath of an attempted Panem rebellion, called the “Dark Days”:

“With this book, I wanted to explore the state of nature, who we are, and what we perceive is required for our survival,” she 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.”

You know who’s really jacked? The series’s biggest fans of all, the good folks at Lionsgate:

Lionsgate released the four “Hunger Games” movies, and the studio’s vice chairman, Michael Burns, has suggested a prequel. In a recent statement to The Associated Press, the chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, Joe Drake, said, “As the proud home of the ‘Hunger Games’ movies, we can hardly wait for Suzanne’s next book to be published. We’ve been communicating with her during the writing process and we look forward to continuing to work closely with her on the movie.”

The book will be published May 2020—just in time for teens to enjoy in whatever is left of summer vacation in the era of constant extracurriculars, to inspire them as they approach their own bloodless Hunger Games. May the odds be ever in your favor, kids.