The newest theatrical addition to the Hunger Games franchise, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, is releasing next year, and the stars of the original Hunger Games movies—Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson—are now confirmed to be returning in the movie. Like all Hunger Games movies, Sunrise on the Reaping is based on a novel.
Because of that, we know quite a bit about what the story will entail, including how Peeta and Katniss can return. Although Sunrise on the Reaping will be another prequel to the original movies, following The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, we will see Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark in the new movie, in an epilogue.
While that is thrilling, it does open up the possibility that one brilliant decision made in the final installation of the original Hunger Games movies, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, (and the novel before it) will be undone—and that would be bad news not only for this new movie but also for the franchise overall.
Peeta And Katniss Are Returning To The Hunger Games Franchise
Josh Hutcherson's portrayal of Peeta Mellark and Jennifer Lawrence's portrayal of Katniss Everdeen are two of the most significant factors in the massive popularity of the Hunger Games movies. Of course, the books were popular before Lawrence and Hutcherson were signed on for the project, but their roles are now iconic and beloved.
Because these characters and these actors are such fan favorites, there was some disappointment that they weren't among the cast and characters of The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. For that movie, however, a cameo from either wouldn't have made much sense. The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is set 64 years before the original Hunger Games movies.
While Sunrise on the Reaping is also set many years before the original Hunger Games movies—24 years before, to be exact—this cameo actually makes plenty of sense, as the book's epilogue contains a flash forward to the period after the events of Mockingjay – Part 2.
Given that the conclusion of Mockingjay – Part 2 already confirmed the survival of Peeta, Katniss, and Sunrise on the Reaping protagonist Haymitch Abernathy, this epilogue wasn't a major shock, and it opened the door for Katniss and Peeta to have one more on-screen appearance in a believable way.
However, this epilogue runs the risk of undoing one of the best decisions the Mockingjay – Part 2 ending made, and it would be such a disappointment if that happened.
We Still Shouldn't Know Katniss' Children's Names
The most horrifying aspect of The Hunger Games is the fact that children are the ones being plucked from their districts and forced to fight to the death, all of which begins with the Reaping, a ceremony in which the tributes' names are called.
In addition to Mockingjay – Part 2 revealing that the horrors of the Hunger Games were brought to an end, the epilogue also showed that Katniss and Peeta had (at least) two children. What was especially powerful about this reveal was that neither the movies nor the books ever revealed the names of Katniss and Peeta's children.
Symbolically, this represented the fact that these children are safe from ever having their names called (even though, yes, the Games were over). With this period being revisited again, however, Sunrise on the Reaping could share what the children's names are now—and that would be a terrible mistake.
This was such a beautiful, subtle way to showcase that Katniss' kids are so much better protected than she and so many other children ever were. Were The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping to undo that now, it would be a massive disservice to all that came before.
