The New Hunger Games Movie Isn’t The Only Big YA Sci-Fi Sequel In 2026

by

As someone who’s been watching Hollywood chase the next big thing since The Hunger Games exploded onto the scene, it was no surprise to see studios scrambling for young adult novels to adapt. Lionsgate really hit the jackpot with Suzanne Collins’ series, turning those three books into four films starring Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson. And honestly, they were good movies! Critics liked them, and more importantly, audiences really showed up – the whole franchise raked in nearly $3 billion worldwide.

Many movie series have tried to take the place of, or compete with, The Hunger Games as the most successful adaptation of young adult novels. Fox made three movies from James Dashner’s Maze Runner books, and Lionsgate found success with the Divergent series, based on Veronica Roth’s novels. However, attempts to launch franchises based on Philip Reeve’s Mortal Engines and Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game weren’t successful.

The success of The Hunger Games films has led to a much larger story world. After the movies became popular, Suzanne Collins started writing prequel books, beginning with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in 2020. The film version of that book came out three years later, and now a second prequel movie, based on the book Sunrise on the Reaping (released in 2025), is scheduled for release later this year.

The popular young adult series The Hunger Games isn’t the only one growing this year. New books in the Divergent series are also planned, with the first one coming out in late 2026 and promising a fresh perspective on the story’s universe.

Both The Hunger Games & Divergent Are Returning In 2026 In A Big Way

After thirteen years since the final Divergent book and ten years since the last movie, author Veronica Roth is releasing a new novel this year. Titled The Sixth Faction, it will be available on October 6, 2026. This isn’t a continuation or side story, but a complete re-imagining of the original story, once again featuring Tris Prior.

As a huge fan of the Divergent series, I’m really excited about The Sixth Faction. It’s basically a ‘what if?’ story – what if Tris hadn’t chosen Dauntless? Apparently, something terrible happens during the Choosing Ceremony, and it sends her down a completely different path, leading her to a secret underground rebellion. And get this – she still meets Four, or Tobias Eaton as he’s known then, but under totally different circumstances! It sounds like a fresh take on the world we already love.

This offers a completely new perspective on the Divergent series. It explores a ‘what if’ scenario – similar to imagining what the Hunger Games would be like if Gale had been chosen as a tribute alongside Katniss, or if Katniss hadn’t volunteered and Prim had been selected instead.

The new Hunger Games movie, Sunrise on the Reaping, isn’t continuing the original story. Instead, it’s a prequel that goes back in time. It focuses on a young Haymitch Abernathy and his experience in the 50th Hunger Games, revealing how he won and built the relationships that would later help the rebellion.

Fans of the young adult series will have plenty to enjoy this fall! Sunrise on the Reaping arrives in theaters on November 20th, only six weeks after the release of The Sixth Faction. How well these films perform will likely decide the future of the series. Good news for fans of The Sixth Faction: Roth is already writing a sequel, meaning we’re guaranteed to see at least two stories expanding the Divergent universe.

Will The New Divergent Books Be Adapted Into Movies?

Given the success of both the Divergent book series and the ongoing Hunger Games movies, there’s a good chance we’ll see more films based on that world. Lionsgate, or another studio, might be considering adapting The Sixth Faction for the big screen, and discussions about it could already be happening.

Currently, there aren’t any official plans to adapt The Sixth Faction into a movie. This is different from The Hunger Games, where Lionsgate announced movie adaptations of the final two books at the same time they were announced as novels. As of now, there’s been no news about a movie based on the Divergent series continuing.

The decline of the Divergent movie series might explain why this new film is taking a different approach. While the first two movies, Divergent and Insurgent, did well at the box office, earning $288 million and $297 million respectively, the third film, Allegiant, saw a significant drop in earnings with $179 million. As a result, Lionsgate canceled the planned fourth movie, which would have adapted the rest of the third book, leaving the series incomplete.

It’s unclear if the Divergent movies will continue, but The Sixth Faction offers a promising path forward. Instead of simply restarting the story or continuing the previous films that didn’t resonate with viewers, it provides a fresh way to revive the series. Similar to how The Hunger Games expanded with new books, Divergent could also find renewed success if The Sixth Faction breathes new life into the franchise.

Read More

2026-04-21 16:43