The Hunger Games made Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson superstars (more so for her), and after more than a decade away, they are returning to Panem. THR reports Lawrence and Hutcherson will reprise their roles as Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark in next year’s prequel film, Sunrise On the Reaping.
Wait, so how is that going to work if Sunrise On the Reaping takes place 24 years before events in The Hunger Games? The likelihood is that we will see Katniss and Peeta in some kind of flash forward. And that makes me think we could also see the return of Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy, considering the film centers around him and the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games.
Behind the camera is Francis Lawrence, who directed Lawrence and Hutcherson previously in three Hunger Games movies, concluding with 2015’s Mockingjay Part 2.
Lawrence recently earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in Die My Love. Hutcherson can be seen right now in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, the #1 movie in the country.
Joseph Zada stars as young Haymitch Abernathy, played as an adult in previous films by Woody Harrelson. Also in the cast are Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove Baird, McKenna Grace as Maysilee Donner, Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee, Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Beetee, Maya Hawke as Wiress, Glenn Close as Drusilla Sickle, Ralph Fiennes as President Snow, Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket, Ben Wang as Wyatt Callow, Billy Porter as Magno Stift, Iris Apatow as Proserpina Trinket, Lily Taylor as Mags Flanagan, and Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman.
Lionsgate will release The Hunger Games: Sunrise On the Reaping on November 20th 2026.
