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As The Hunger Games franchise and the world of Panem continue to grow, fans are wondering whether it's possible to see the return of the original cast, including Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen and Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark.
Truth be told, the duo has been confirmed to reprise their roles in Sunrise on the Reaping! Here's how.
WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, so proceed with caution.
How Will Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark Return to The Hunger Games?
As per The InSneider (and confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline), the original The Hunger Games stars, Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson, are both confirmed to return for the upcoming prequel, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
In the original trilogy, both survived, got married, and had two children together, with The Mockingjay Part 2 ending on a hopeful note of Katniss promising her newborn that she would eventually share their story with them. Considering that happy note, how would they return in a prequel? What could they offer to Haymitch Abernathy's origin story?
In Suzanne Collins' book, Katniss and Peeta were shown in the Epilogue of the prequel. Haymitch was done telling his story, Katniss was bringing him goose eggs as a tribute to his past, with Peeta joining their little hangout together, despite the years that had passed since the main story.
Sunrise on the Reaping is set 24 years before the events of the first film, and we find out that the one way Haymitch Abernathy spends his birthday is by praying he never gets picked on the Reaping. However, due to cruel fate, Haymitch is selected to compete in the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell.
For this Quarter Quell, similar to what happened in The Catching Fire, each district of Panem will send twice the number of tributes to the Capitol to fight to the death in the Hunger Games.
What Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson Have Said About Their Potential Reprise
The last time Jennifer Lawrence and her co-star Josh Hutcherson were cast in The Hunger Games was almost a decade ago, but is it possible that these stars are still looking forward to rejoining the world they once knew?
In a 2023 interview with Variety, Lawrence couldn't be more thrilled to: "Oh, my God – totally! If Katniss ever could ever come back into my life, 100 percent."
Meanwhile, Hutcherson hinted at their possible return to the franchise (guess the cat's out of the bag now):
"I would love to be back on set with Francis, with Jen, with Liam, with Woody [Harrelson]," Hutcherson told Variety in a recent interview with the outlet, "It would not take any convincing at all. I'd be there in a heartbeat."
For now, fans can wait until The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping premieres in theaters on November 20, 2026.
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