Surprise! Jennifer Lawrence And Josh Hutcherson Are Returning For The Next Hunger Games Movie, And I Have 2 Followup Questions

Ever since I read Sunrise on the Reaping, I've been wondering about whether one of the most hyped of upcoming book adaptations coming out on the 2026 movie schedule would go back to its roots and include Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss Everdeen and Josh Hutcherson's Peeta Mellark, but I figured it would be a secret Lionsgate would hold close to their vest until release weekend. Well, thanks to a new report, we know it's apparently already a done deal. The District 12 tributes of the 74th Hunger Games are heading back to the big screen.

The Hollywood Reporter says it has "confirmed" that the two actors will make appearances in the next Hunger Games movie following the pair leaving the franchise a decade ago with Mockingjay Part 2. As a longtime fan, I'm very happy to hear this news, but now that it's here I do have two things on my mind.

Will Woody Harrelson Join Them?

Harrelson famously plays Haymitch in the original Hunger Games movies, and his character is the subject of Sunrise on the Reaping after all. I'm so perplexed that we've heard about the return of Lawrence and Hutcherson before his name coming up first. You can hear his voice briefly in the Sunrise on the Reaping trailer below, but I've been curious if he'll be narrating the story, or will he show up when Katniss and Peeta do.

From a practical point of view, Sunrise on the Reaping already sounds like a very expensive film from the casting before adding Lawrence and Hutcherson. It's got the likes of Ralph Fiennes as President Snow, Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket, Maya Hawke as Wiress, Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman, Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee along with Glenn Close as a new character named Drusilla Sickle, among others.

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Will Their Role Be Bigger Than It Is In The Book?

This is where we get into SPOILER territory for the Sunrise on the Reaping book.

In the latest prequel, Katniss and Peeta are included in the storyline, but merely in the epilogue when the story jumps to present day. Since the movie got these two, I have to wonder if there will be more in the movie to pay tribute (pun intended) to the character's legacy, or if it will be a short cameo like the book.

The original Hunger Games saga had its finale with 2015's Mockingjay Part 2 where Katniss put an end to the Games and ended up settling down with Peeta and their kids. In the Sunrise on the Reaping book, once the tragic events of Haymitch's Games are told, the story jumps forward in time where the character can find some joy in helping end the Games as her mentor, and counts Katniss and Peeta as his family.

The report suggests they will likely in a "flash-forward", before saying "No details have been disclosed". We'll find out for sure once Sunrise on the Reaping hits theaters on November 20, 2026.