Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are returning to the world of Panem to reprise their roles as Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark from the original Hunger Games films for the prequel, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, multiple outlets reported.
Lionsgate will release the new film, which is adapted from author Suzanne Collins's dystopian novel of the same name, in theaters on Nov. 20, 2026.
Sunrise on the Reaping is set 24 years before Katniss and Peeta stepped onto the deadly field as reluctant tributes representing District 12. Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), who was the sole surviving victor of previous Hunger Games from District 12, served as a mentor for Katniss and Peeta.
The story of Sunrise focuses on 16-year-old Haymitch, portrayed by Joseph Zada, as he fights to survive his own Hunger Games — all while refusing to bend the knee to the ruthless Capitol, which selects twice the number of tributes. Haymitch and 47 other children are sent into the deadly arena.
While no specifics have been released about Lawrence and Hutcherson’s roles in the upcoming movie, Collins’s Sunrise on the Reaping novel has a flash-forward scene with a grown Katniss and Peeta, where Haymitch recounts his experience in the Hunger Games to them.
Hutcherson told Variety in November, “I would love to be back on set with [director] Francis [Lawrence], with Jen, with Liam, with Woody [Harrelson],” the star said. “It would not take any convincing at all. I’d be there in a heartbeat.”
Sunrise on the Reaping is the sixth movie in the Hunger Games franchise and comes after the 2023 adaptation of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which starred Tom Blyth as a young President Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird, a singer forced to compete in the Hunger Games.
Lionsgate dropped a star-studded teaser for the new movie back in November, including Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove Baird, Mckenna Grace as Maysilee Donner, Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee, Ralph Fiennes as President Snow, Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket and Glenn Close as Drusilla Sickle.
LATEST POSTS
- 1
Chevron Says Damage at Wheatstone LNG Will Hamper Restart - 2
Glen Powell will host 'Saturday Night Live' with Olivia Dean as musical guest: What to know ahead of their debut - 3
Deadly Switzerland ski resort fire was likely started by sparklers attached to champagne bottles, officials say - 4
Police arrest 18 as anti-war protests spread across Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem - 5
Audits of 6 American Busssiness Class Flights
Taco Bell debuts its Baja Blast pie, and the reactions may surprise you
Kuwait is softening stance on Israel, dissident tells ‘Post’ after viral UN speech
NASA is sending astronauts back to the moon. Can you see the Artemis 4 landing sites from Earth?
IDF, police arrest eleven for criminal, terror-related activity over weekend
Exclusive-Drugmakers raise US prices on 350 medicines despite pressure from Trump
Sheinelle Jones will cohost fourth hour of 'Today' with Jenna Bush Hager: Here's what to know about her
New studies of old dogs help scientists understand where they came from
German official report: Teen social media ban faces legal hurdles
WHO suspends Gaza medical evacuations after contractor killed by Israeli troops











