YouTube star MrBeast is planning a real-life version of The Hunger Games where contestants are required to hunt each other down to win $1 million dollars.
Following the success of the creator’s game show version of Squid Game, which is currently holding auditions for its next season, Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson revealed he was now turning his attention to the hit battle royale-style novel and film series The Hunger Games.
Asked about his plans on the Today Show, Donaldson seemed surprised word had leaked out about what he had been considering. “I don’t know where you guys are getting your intel from,” he said. “Well yes, obviously we won’t kill people. But yeah, you must have talked to my team.
“I’ve been sitting on this idea where it’d be fun to grab potentially 26 random people, to put them on an island,” Donaldson elaborated, “and – not use real weapons, maybe like laser tag or something like that – and then the last remaining one wins a million dollars, to recreate Hunger Games in real life. I think that’d absolutely crush.”
In the original novels and film series, The Hunger Games are an enforced act of brutality from an opressive American regime. Contestants are chosen by lottery from each of the country’s various downtrodden districts, and forced to fight until only one remains. The slaughter is designed to be a demonstration of fealty to the nation’s president, a way to keep districts divided from each other, and as a way to entertain the country’s elite.
“We recreated Squid Game, we also rebuilt Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, and I have a chocolate company, and we gave away golden tickets, brought people out, people loved it,” Donaldson continued. “A lot of times we just bring these fictional ideas to life and people love seeing it.”
Originally planned as trilogy of novels by author Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games’ huge success has spawned two prequel books and a hit series of movies originally fronted by Jennifer Lawrence. A theatre version of the first story is also now in production, with Mia Carragher, daughter of former Liverpool FC player Jamie Carragher, now cast as lead character Katniss Everdeen.
Image credit: John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
