Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are set to return to the Hunger Games universe in the upcoming prequel.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lawrence will once again portray Katniss Everdeen. Hutcherson will reprise his role as her love interest, Peeta Mellark. It has been speculated that they would likely return in a flash-forward sequence. No further information has been confirmed at the time of this article's publication.
The film, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, is based on a book of the same name by Suzanne Collins. It is scheduled to premiere in theaters in 2026. The movie will also star Joseph Zada, Jesse Plemons, Ralph Fiennes, Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, Mckenna Grace, Maya Hawke, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Whitney Peak.
Lawrence and Hutcherson's last appearance in the massive franchise was in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (2015). The film concluded with Katniss and Peeta getting married and raising a family together.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping takes place 24 years before the first film. The story begins in Panem on the morning of the reaping for the 50th Hunger Games. It follows the story of a young Haymitch Abernathy (Zada) from District 12 as he is selected for the second Quarter Quell (which takes place every 25 years) that doubles the number of tributes. Separated from his partner, Lenore Dove, and his family, he is forced to survive the brutal environment and challenge the Capitol’s deadly games with help from newly-formed alliances.
Sunrise on the Reaping serves as a follow-up to 2023’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. The film starred Tom Blyth (Coriolanus Snow), Rachel Zegler (Lucy Gray Baird), and Hunter Schafer (Tigris Snow).
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will release in theaters on November 20, 2026.
