I absolutely LOVE ‘The Hunger Games’, and with ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ arriving in New Zealand cinemas on 19 November, I’m SO excited to return to Panem. For me, Suzanne Collins created one of the greatest YA series ever written.
A series that grows with you
These books helped define a generation, but their reach has always extended far beyond the YA shelf. Readers who discovered Katniss as teenagers are now adults, finding completely new meaning in the same story.
The friendships, romance and fight for survival draw you in, while the grief, inequality and lasting cost of violence give you so much to think about. Different parts hit harder as we get older. In 2026, the questions about power, propaganda and who controls the truth feel painfully relevant. Collins trusts young readers with difficult ideas while giving adults just as much to consider.
And on a slightly less serious side note, every year the Met Gala feels more and more like watching the Capitol come to life. The completely OTT costumes, the spectacle and everyone waiting to see who arrives wearing what. Add in some chariots and tributes and we are basically watching the Capitol live from ‘The Hunger Games’. I LOVE it.
Haymitch has always had my heart
Haymitch has ALWAYS been my favourite. The sarcasm, intelligence and care beneath that gruff exterior, brought to life so brilliantly by Woody Harrelson.
Then I read ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’. The depth of that book! Seeing his younger self, with his own hopes, relationships and future ahead of him, made the man we already knew so much more heartbreaking. It changed how I understood him and deepened my love of the whole series.
Even his voice has been carefully considered. Collins gave younger Haymitch more humour and musicality, qualities stripped away by the time we meet him in the original trilogy. Every character feels as though they have a whole life beyond the pages. What an incredible writer.
And then there are the films...
Jennifer Lawrence didn’t just play Katniss, the role catapulted her into becoming one of the biggest stars in the world. And somehow, through all of it, she became the best friend every girl wanted to have. Funny, awkward, completely herself and unbelievably talented. She made Katniss strong without making her invincible, brave while still terrified, and incredibly human.
Elizabeth Banks did something equally special with Effie. So many of the little Effie-isms we now associate with the character came from Banks herself. ‘That is mahogany!’ is ICONIC. Lines like ‘you’ll get used to the smell’ and those wonderfully tone-deaf comments about things like whether the other tributes even get dessert helped turn Effie into so much more than the Capitol representative we first meet.
Banks has spoken about how much freedom she was given to build the character, and Collins championed the version of Effie that emerged on screen. Effie isn’t even a major presence in the later books, but Banks made her so beloved, funny and eventually heartbreaking that her role grew with the films.
That, to me, says so much about how carefully this series has been adapted.
The fandom has become part of it
And then there is the fan casting, which became SERIOUS business almost immediately after ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ was released.
What makes it even better is that Fanning has said the fans basically helped make it happen. She joked that Lionsgate had been getting “hounded online” with people insisting she needed to play Effie, and the studio itself later acknowledged she had been the clear fan favourite from the start.
I also love that Fanning is such a genuine fan of the character. She has said Effie has always been her favourite, and that Elizabeth Banks brought so many extra layers to her. The fact that Banks reached out, sent her flowers and welcomed her into the role makes the whole thing feel even more special.
Fans wanted Elle Fanning as young Effie so badly that social media filled with side-by-side pictures of her and Elizabeth Banks. And honestly? PERFECTION. There could not be a better choice.
Fans were also throwing around Kieran Culkin for a younger Caesar Flickerman, another piece of casting that feels almost ridiculously right.
What I love about all of this is how intertwined the fandom has become with the films. These aren’t just characters being handed to whoever happens to be available. People CARE. They have spent years thinking about how these characters move, speak and look, and the filmmakers clearly care too.
Elle Fanning has even spoken about the fan campaign helping put her on the studio’s radar. When the people making the films and the people who love the books are independently imagining the same actors, you know there is a real understanding of these characters.
Coming full circle
And now Jennifer Lawrence has confirmed she WILL return as Katniss, alongside Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson. I find that strangely emotional.
We met Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch when so many of us were younger. The actors grew up, we grew up, and now we’re going back to Panem knowing so much more about the man Haymitch was before we ever met him.
After reading ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’, I don’t think I could ever watch Woody Harrelson’s Haymitch in exactly the same way again. We now know what sits underneath every sarcastic comment, every drink and every moment when he tries to protect Katniss and Peeta.
So seeing these actors return feels like watching the story genuinely come full circle.
That is why I think ‘The Hunger Games’ has endured. It isn’t nostalgia for a YA phenomenon we loved years ago. The world keeps expanding, the characters keep becoming richer and somehow Suzanne Collins keeps finding new ways to make us look differently at stories we thought we already knew.
If you’ve ever passed these books over because they’re YA, please give them a go. There is SO much here for adult readers, whether you’re discovering Panem for the first time or returning to it years later.
Has ‘The Hunger Games’ changed for you as you’ve got older?