‘Hunger Games' calls back Jennifer Lawrence along with Josh Hutcherson

Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are officially stepping back into the world that defined a generation of moviegoers. 

Deadline has confirmed that both stars will return for Lionsgate’s new prequel film, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, joining the expanding canon of Suzanne Collins’ blockbuster franchise.

Even though the story takes place 24 years before The Hunger Games, the book includes a moment where an older Katniss and Peeta hear Haymitch Abernathy recount his own Games. 

This scene allows Lawrence and Hutcherson to reprise their roles in a way that feels organic to the story rather than forced fan service. 

It’s a brief moment, but one that connects the new chapter to the heart of the original films.

The upcoming film centers on 16-year-old Haymitch, played by Joseph Zada, as he’s thrown into the brutal 50th Hunger Games, an edition infamous for doubling the number of tributes. 

With 48 competitors fighting for survival, the Second Quarter Quell becomes the arena that shapes Haymitch into the mentor audiences first met years later.

While Hutcherson had been asked repeatedly about returning to the franchise, he stayed cautious during earlier press runs. 

Back in August, he clarified to Brit + Co, “That’d be cool. No, I know nothing in that world right now. Hunger Games is amazing, and I’ve loved it for many years and I will love it forever.” 

His return now feels like a full-circle moment timed perfectly with a major career upswing, especially after the strong performance of Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, which opened to $64 million.

Lawrence, meanwhile, enters the prequel on the heels of earning her seventh Golden Globe nomination for Die My Love, continuing to cement her standing as one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed performers.

Anticipation for Sunrise on the Reaping is already high. 

The first trailer pulled in a massive 109 million views in 24 hours, becoming the studio’s second-biggest trailer debut ever. 

The excitement mirrors the book’s record-breaking success, which sold 1.5 million copies in its first week, Collins’ strongest launch in the franchise yet.