NEW YORK (AP) — Inspired by an 18th century Scottish philosopher and the modern scourge of misinformation, Suzanne Collins is returning to the ravaged, post-apocalyptic land of Panem for a new “The Hunger Games” novel.

Scholastic announced Thursday that “Sunrise on the Reaping,” the fifth volume of Collins’ blockbuster dystopian series, will be published March 18, 2025. The new book begins with the reaping of the Fiftieth Hunger Games, set 24 years before the original “Hunger Games” novel, which came out in 2008, and 40 years after Collins’ most recent book, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.”

Collins has drawn upon Greek mythology and the Roman gladiator games for her earlier “Hunger Games” books. But for the upcoming novel, she cites the Scottish Enlightenment philosopher David Hume.

“With ‘Sunrise on the Reaping,’ I was inspired by David Hume’s idea of implicit submission and, in his words, ‘the easiness with which the many are governed by the few,’” Collins said in a statement. “The story also lent itself to a deeper dive into the use of propaganda and the power of those who control the narrative. The question ‘Real or not real?’ seems more pressing to me every day.”

Film rights have not yet been announced. All four previous books have been adapted into movies, a multibillion dollar franchise for Lionsgate that featured Jennifer Lawrence portraying heroine Katniss Everdeen in the film versions of “The Hunger Games,” “Catching Fire” and “Mockingjay,” the last of which came out in two installments.

The first four “Hunger Games” books have sold more than 100 million copies and been translated into dozens of languages. Collins had seemingly ended the series after the 2010 publication of “Mockingjay,” writing in 2015 that it was “time to move on to other lands.” But four years later, she stunned readers and the publishing world when she revealed she was working on what became “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” released in 2020 and set 64 years before the first book.

The film version of “Songbirds and Snakes,” starring Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler, came out last year.

A new “Hunger Games” prequel film will be released in theaters in 2026.

After last November’s “Hunger Games” prequel “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” charmed its way to $337 million at the box office, Lionsgate teased that moviegoers may not have seen the last of Panem, the dystopia where the story is set — even though the spinoff story covered the entirety of author Suzanne Collins’ 2020 novel of the same name.

“The film opened an endless series of possibilities that Suzanne can go, and that [Lionsgate] can go with her,” Adam Fogelson, chairman of the studio’s motion picture group, said at the time.

To that end, Collins is writing a new book, “Sunrise on the Reaping,” to be released in 2025. The film adaptation will hit theaters on Nov. 20, 2026. Francis Lawrence, who has helmed every “Hunger Games” installment since 2012’s “Catching Fire,” is in talks to direct.

Like the forthcoming novel, “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping” will revisit the world of Panem 24 years before the events of the “Hunger Games” saga (anchored by thee Katniss Everdeen) and four decades after “The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.” It will start on the morning of the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell — in which Haymitch Abernathy, portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the original series, competed. Haymitch Abernathy later mentors Katniss and Peeta in the 74th Hunger Games.

“Suzanne Collins is a master storyteller and our creative north star,” Fogelson said in a statement. “We couldn’t be more fortunate than to be guided and trusted by a collaborator whose talent and imagination are so consistently brilliant. The Second Quarter Quell is legendary and looms large over the history of the Games, even into the time of Katniss Everdeen a quarter-century later.”

Meredith Wieck and Scott O’Brien will oversee the production on behalf of the studio. Patricia Laucella and Phil Strina oversaw the rights for the book for Lionsgate.

The “Hunger Games” film franchise has generated more than $3.3 billion at the worldwide box office, with 2013’s “Catching Fire” as the highest-grossing with $865 million. “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” didn’t live up to the original saga in terms of ticket sales, but the prequel only cost $100 million, so it managed to turn a profit and encourage the studio to move ahead with another installment.

“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” took place 64 years before Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen volunteers as tribute. Tom Blyth played a young Coriolanus Snow, who later becomes the tyrannical leader of Panem, while Rachel Zegler portrayed impoverished District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird, whom he mentors and develops feelings for during the 10th annual battle royale. By the end of “Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” Lucy Gray Baird’s fate remains ambiguous and Snow begins his ruthless rise to power.