‘The Hunger Games’ screenwriter Billy Ray wrote a YA novel. He has his sights set on a movie trilogy

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Billy Ray is terrified.

That’s how the acclaimed screenwriter answered what seemed like a simple, almost underwhelming, opening question: “How are you doing?”

Surprisingly, he isn’t talking about the country’s problems – despite his strong criticisms of both the Trump administration and the Democratic Party. He’s also not discussing the dangers of artificial intelligence, which he recently called a harmful pursuit driven by profit, or the difficulties Hollywood is facing with declining box office numbers. (He’s well-known for creating the memorable AMC ad featuring Nicole Kidman, promoting the movie-going experience.)

Ray is really scared because his debut novel, a young adult dystopian retelling of “Romeo and Juliet” titled “Burn the Water,” is being released soon. While he’s experienced disappointments with movies before, this feels much more intense.

He explained, while sitting in a busy West Hollywood coffee shop, that screenwriters have people to blame if a movie fails – the director, the actors, and so on. But if an author writes a book that doesn’t sell, they have no one to blame but themselves.

I was completely drawn into Ray’s vision of London in 2425, a city drastically changed after the polar ice caps melted and much of the world was flooded. It’s a future born from disaster – after what they call ‘the Great Soak’ in 2100, things went from bad to worse when a nerve gas attack wiped out even more people. From the ashes of that catastrophe, two powerful groups emerged: the Rogues and the Crowns, and they seem to be locked in a constant battle for survival.

For three hundred years, the Rogues and the Crowns fought constantly over the shrinking resources of a city slowly sinking into the water. The majority of the hard work is done by ordinary people known as the Habs. As a result of the endless conflict, people don’t live long, and many soldiers – including Jule, a skilled fighter for the Crowns, and Rafe, her equivalent on the Rogue side – are just teenagers or even children. We meet Jule and Rafe at the beginning of the story, and they quickly become unlikely lovers caught in the middle of the war.

“Burn the Water” is a powerfully visual story that feels like it was made for the big screen—and that’s no accident, as the author is a screenwriter himself. He originally started developing the idea fifteen years ago when he heard Warner Bros. was interested in a fresh take on “Romeo and Juliet.” He wondered what that classic story would look like if it were set in the future.

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Like many ideas in Hollywood, Silverman’s original vision didn’t quite come to fruition. However, Ray loved the concept and kept revisiting it, initially thinking it would work as a movie, then a TV show, and ultimately developing it into a novel.

When the Writers Guild of America struck two years ago, it motivated him to finally start writing the novel he’d always dreamed of, feeling like now or never.

From May 2, 2023, when the WGA strike began, through November 9th, when the SAG-AFTRA strike concluded, Ray used the six months to learn how to write a novel. He also hosted a podcast called “Strike Talk” sponsored by Deadline during this time.

Which, as it turns out, is very different from adapting one.

I recently spoke with a screenwriter who confessed to feeling like a total fraud, despite his success. He put it perfectly: he was comfortable calling himself a screenwriter, but the idea of being called a novelist just didn’t sit right. It was a fascinating admission about the boundaries we create for ourselves, even when we’re clearly talented.

He chose London as the setting for specific reasons. Geographically, he needed a city located on an island to create a sense of complete isolation. Historically, he wanted to pay tribute to Shakespeare.

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While the book pays tribute to classic storytelling, it avoids lengthy, introspective speeches. “Burn the Water” is deliberately concise. In fact, the first draft was extremely streamlined, as Ray worried about losing readers with anything that seemed showy or self-important. Early feedback highlighted this, with readers pointing out it read more like a movie script than a novel. They explained that a novel requires showing, not telling – it needs to create the visuals and convey emotions through actions and descriptions, just like a film.

He revised his work, creating a new draft that was fifty percent longer and included much more detail. He hadn’t originally planned to write for young adults, but he discovered he could appeal to that audience by making his characters a little younger.

He wanted to create something as a gift for young people, especially young women, focused on leadership. He’s noticed a lot of frustration among young people in politics – they often feel ignored and powerless, unsure of how to make a difference. He hopes to show them that they can take charge and lead.

Ray describes his “political space” as his decade-long role as a communications advisor for the Democratic Party. After Trump’s election, he felt compelled to do more than just donate money, so he began writing and refining speeches, campaign ads, and offering broader advice to politicians. Specifically, he helps them communicate in a way that appeals to moderate voters, moving beyond typical Democratic messaging. Currently, he’s working with 80 current members of Congress and an additional 60 candidates.

He argues that Americans aren’t as split as it seems, pointing out that most people actually share similar views on important issues like abortion rights, the minimum wage, healthcare, the cost of living, and climate change. He’s made this point before and is reiterating it now.

He argued that the party has become overly concerned with avoiding offense, focusing on things like pronoun debates instead of important issues. He pointed out that the average age of a first-time homeowner has significantly increased, from 23 in 1960 to 40 today, and suggested that’s a more pressing topic. He also stated that wanting secure borders isn’t inherently racist, owning a gun doesn’t automatically make someone a potential school shooter, and having questions about vaccines doesn’t equate to believing in conspiracy theories. He urged the party to be more inclusive and stop alienating people.

In “Burn the Water,” Ray highlights how unthinking bias and deeply held prejudices—along with a stark warning about climate change—remain powerful forces. The war between the Crowns and the Rogues, which began 300 years prior, has become a pointless, self-perpetuating cycle of violence fueled by nothing more than loyalty to one’s own group. Because Rafe and Jule were taught to despise the enemy simply for being the enemy, they struggle to accept—and believe in the possibility of—their love.

Ray described his book as political, but he aimed for a blend of romance, action, and political themes. He wanted readers to consider three things: ‘Was I ever bored? Was I ever confused? And do these elements feel balanced?’

Aside from “The Hunger Games” and the new prequel, “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,” Francis Lawrence hadn’t read much young adult fiction. When he was offered the chance to adapt “The Hunger Games,” he didn’t even know what it was. He says his children – his daughter was 14 and his son was 9 at the time – were completely shocked that he didn’t know about it.

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At just 16 years old, Annabelle Chang launched the first bookstore in the US specifically for young adults. Now, her sister, Alexandra Brown Chang, is preparing to publish her first novel, a young adult romance titled ‘By Invitation Only.’

However, unlike many new young adult novelists, he had the advantage of sharing an early version of his book with Suzanne Collins, the author of ‘The Hunger Games,’ and she provided valuable feedback.

Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” shares a lot with modern young adult stories, especially the theme of love facing strong opposition – even when that opposition comes from deeply ingrained differences. This idea of overcoming obstacles is common in the genre, as are stories set in worlds that are broken and divided, often reflecting exaggerated versions of today’s problems. The author chose a water-based apocalypse because of the increasing threat of climate change, but the play’s true conflict isn’t the disaster itself. It’s the characters’ tendency to fight amongst themselves – the Rogues and Crowns prioritize conflict over cooperation, making a difficult situation even worse instead of working together to find solutions.

Honestly, even though the guy’s a seriously respected writer – I mean, he was nominated for an Oscar for “Captain Phillips” – he told me he was floored to get a two-book deal with Scholastic. And the best part? He’s already finished the second book, hoping to turn it into a whole trilogy. It’s great to see someone with that kind of pedigree still genuinely excited about a new project.

“We’ll have to see how this one does.”

If it does well, he would like to see a trilogy of films as well.

Not TV?

“Maybe,” he said. “But I want to do whatever I can to help movies.”

As a more recent writer put it, heartbreak can somehow feel okay when you’re surrounded by beauty. It’s a sentiment echoed long ago, though perhaps not as eloquently as this modern take.

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2026-03-02 14:32