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
A Gustav Klimt painting is now the most expensive piece of modern art sold at auction. The fascinating history behind the $236 million 'Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer.' - 2
Immortal Style: Closet Staples for Each Age - 3
Arctic sea ice just dropped to an alarming new low - 4
Pacific voyagers’ remarkable environmental knowledge allowed for long-distance navigation without Western technology - 5
After harsh winter, Ukrainians find joy in releasing bats rescued from war
Iran executes two men who tried storming military facility during January protest crackdown
The Best Design Bloggers for Style Motivation
Two Indonesian UN peacekeepers killed in explosion in Lebanon
ISS astronaut evacuation shouldn't interfere with upcoming Artemis 2 moon mission, NASA chief says
German foreign minister heads to China to talk rare-earth exports
Prehistoric wolf’s gut frozen in time reveals an ice age giant
Wedding trip Objections in Europe
Ukrainian troops showed 'greater tactical imagination' than Western trainers, British officer says, pointing to their ambush tactics
Israel Police decry online defamation campaign against female officer in Jerusalem













