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
Instructions to Expand Your Advantages from an Open Record Reward - 2
A coup too far: Why Benin's rebel soldiers failed where others in the region succeeded - 3
Songbirds swap colorful plumage genes across species lines among their evolutionary neighbors - 4
Dental Embed Innovation: An Achievement in Helpful Dentistry - 5
Visiting This Japanese City Just Got A Little More Expensive (Here's What Travelers Should Know)
Nature: 10 High priority Setting up camp Spots In Europe
What's 'Aawun Buhh' been up to? How a famous 'Got Milk?' ad propelled him to being 'that guy.'
Gym tied to outbreak of obscure disease that spreads through mist
Figure out How to Improve Your Stream Voyage with Remarkable Trips and Exercises
Display of Netanyahu's severed head 'incites public to murder PM', Likud says in official complaint
Accomplishing Balance between fun and serious activities: Procedures for a Better Life
A decade after Brazil’s deadly dam collapse, Indigenous peoples demand justice on the eve of COP30
Health officials report 14 Legionnaires' disease cases in Florida, gym connection suspected
Toddler diagnosed with cancer makes remarkable recovery after aggressive treatment













