One of the Best Dystopian Movie Franchises Is Returning to Peacock (& Now’s the Perfect Time To Watch It)

One of the best things about streaming is that fans can often stream entire franchises all on one platform. Thanks to different platforms regularly updating their libraries, turning to streaming to watch every movie in one place is easier than ever. It’s a situation that does have drawbacks — notably when entire franchises depart a platform and vanish from streaming altogether — but in the case of one of the best dystopian fiction franchises of all time, the absence from streaming is over and all the films are back together in one home again.

All five current films in The Hunger Games franchise are headed back to Peacock as of January 14th. The films had previously been on HBO Max, but departed that platform at the end of November, making them unavailable to stream for the past month. The franchise has previously streamed on Peacock several times in the past. Based on Suzanne Collins’ novels of the same name, The Hunger Games story is set in Panem, a dystopian, post-apocalyptic nation in what was once the United States. In this bleak world, children from Panem’s 12 individual districts are chosen by lottery and forced to fight to the death in the annual Hunger Games televised across the country.

The first four films in the franchise follow Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), who steps up and volunteers to take her sister’s place as District 12’s tribute in the 74th annual Hunger Games, sparking a revolution in the process. The fifth film in the series, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, is a prequel set 64 years before the first film and follows the story of future tyrannical president Coriolanus Snow. The arrival of the full franchise on Peacock comes at a good time since another prequel film is set to hit theaters later this year.

Now Is the Best Time to Watch The Hunger Games

With the full current Hunger Games franchise back streaming together on Peacock, now is a great time to watch the movies. Collins published a second Hunger Games prequel novel, Sunrise on the Reaping, last spring and a movie adaptation of the film is headed to theaters in November. The story of Sunrise on the Reaping follows Haymitch Abernathy’s victory in the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell. Haymitch’s experience in those games — and what happened after — were a key part of what formed him as the man who advised Katniss and Peeta in their games. Watching the first films in the franchise will not only up the excitement for Sunrise on the Reaping, but it will help provide some context to why Haymitch’s story is so important and something that fans of the franchise have wanted for years.

Additionally, Sunrise on the Reaping will see the return of Lawrence as Katniss and Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark. It’s not entirely clear exactly how the characters will appear in the movie, but in the novel, there is an epilogue where Haymitch is telling his story to them, which could be how the film will incorporate them in the story. It might also give Hunger Games fans a glimpse at Katniss and Peeta’s life beyond their original stories, which is something that fans have also wondered about over the years. Considering that there currently aren’t any Hunger Games sequels — Collins has not at this time written any — it might be the closest things fans get to that.

The complete current The Hunger Games franchise heads to Peacock on January 14th.

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