Jennifer Lawrence is returning to the role of Katniss Everdeen after 11 years. The actor finally confirmed that she will appear in the franchise’s upcoming prequel film, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
In an interview with the Call Her Daddy podcast (via The Hollywood Reporter), Lawrence confirmed she reunited with her former Hunger Games co-stars Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson on Sunrise on the Reaping, calling the experience “unbelievable.”
The three actors had long been rumored to be appearing in the prequel film, but their casting had never been officially announced by Lionsgate. While unconfirmed, they are expected to appear in flashforwards or a framing device.
“It was so crazy because it was the same crew. It was the same camera guys, the same AD, who I’ve worked with a million times … and Josh and Woody and it was so emotional,” Lawrence said. “Like Josh and I like didn’t walk to the bathroom without our arms around each other. It was so beautiful.”
Lawrence, Hutcherson, and Harrelson join an ensemble cast that includes Jesse Plemons, Ralph Fiennes, Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, Mckenna Grace, Maya Hawke, Whitney Peak, and Kelvin Harrison Jr., with Joseph Zada as a young Haymitch Abernathy, the protagonist of Sunrise on the Reaping.
Francis Lawrence is back in the director’s chair for Sunrise on the Reaping. The filmmaker has helmed every installment in The Hunger Games franchise to date except the first. Billy Ray wrote the prequel’s screenplay, which is adapted from Suzanne Collins’ 2025 novel of the same name.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping opens in theaters on November 20, 2026.
Are you excited to see Lawrence, Hutcherson, and Harrelson return to The Hunger Games?
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