Lionsgate bosses keen to grab rights for Hunger Games prequel

Lionsgate bosses have hinted at plans for a Hunger Games prequel, based on Suzanne Collins's upcoming book.

Publishers at Scholastic have announced Collins's untitled Hunger Games prequel novel will be released in May 2020, and Joe Drake, the chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, has quickly confirmed his company is interested in the rights.

"As the proud home of the Hunger Games movies, we can hardly wait for Suzanne's next book to be published," he said in a statement. "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 prequel will be set six decades before the events of the original Hunger Games trilogy, which introduced the world to literary heroine Katniss Everdeen.

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

Lionsgate executives turned the three bestselling books into four hit movies, starring Jennifer Lawrence as Everdeen. Debuting in 2012, the films ranked in $3 billion at the worldwide box office.

Film producer Nina Jacobson also took to Twitter to weigh in on the news, leading to speculation she may be involved with the upcoming project.

"Cat's out of the bag," she posted.