Return Of Katniss & Peeta: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson Rejoin Franchise - All About The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping

 

 

Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are officially returning to the Hunger Games universe. The duo will reprise their roles as Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark in the upcoming prequel film The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping, slated to be released in theatres on November 20, 2026.

 

The new instalment, directed by franchise veteran Francis Lawrence, is based on Suzanne Collins' 2025 novel Sunrise on the Reaping. The sixth film in the blockbuster franchise, The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping, is both a sequel to The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023) and a prequel to the 2012 original movie.

 

Set 24 years before Katniss and Peeta first enter the arena, the film centres on a young Haymitch Abernathy and the harrowing events of the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell. The Quarter Quell, a special edition staged every 25 years, introduces shocking twists to the traditional rules. For the 50th edition, each district must send twice the number of tributes. Actor Joseph Zada steps into the role of 16-year-old Haymitch (originally portrayed by Woody Harrelson), whose survival story later becomes central to the success of Katniss and Peeta.

Although Lawrence and Hutcherson are confirmed to return, the makers have kept the details of their roles tightly under wraps. Speculation suggests flash-forward sequences, narrative framing, or thematic tie-ins to connect Haymitch's past with the revolution that Katniss would one day lead.

 

The cast also features Ralph Fiennes as President Coriolanus Snow (a role previously played by Donald Sutherland and Tom Blyth), Elle Fanning as young Effie Trinket, Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman, and Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee. The film also includes Kelvin Harrison Jr, Glenn Close, Maya Hawke, Mckenna Grace, Whitney Peak, Billy Porter, Ben Wang, Molly McCann, Iona Bell, and Percy Daggs IV.

The original Hunger Games films have collectively grossed more than USD 3.3 billion worldwide. Sunrise on the Reaping aims to deepen the mythology of Panem, explore the origins of one of its most complicated victors, and bridge past and future through the return of two of the franchise's most beloved characters.