Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are slated to return for another chapter in The Hunger Games saga, with Sunrise on the Reaping currently in production. The Hollywood Reporter confirms that the duo will reprise their iconic roles—Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen and Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark—though their appearances are expected to be limited, possibly occurring in a flash-forward sequence. The narrative would pick up years after the events of Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015), where Katniss and Peeta are shown as a married couple with children.
Sunrise on the Reaping is adapted from Suzanne Collins’ 2025 novel and marks the second prequel in the franchise, following 2023’s The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, which also drew from Collins’ work. Like most entries in the series (all but one), Francis Lawrence returns as director.
The film’s storyline unfolds 24 years before the original Hunger Games and 40 years before The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. It centers on Haymitch Abernathy, who competes as a tribute in the 50th Hunger Games and later becomes Katniss’s mentor in the main storyline. The cast includes Jesse Plemons portraying Plutarch Heavensbee (a role previously played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Ralph Fiennes as a younger President Snow, originally portrayed by Donald Sutherland.
Currently, Jennifer Lawrence is earning acclaim for Die My Love, directed by Lynne Ramsay, a project that has earned her Golden Globe recognition. Josh Hutcherson’s latest project is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, which debuted at the top of the North American box office in early December.
Production on Sunrise on the Reaping began in mid-2025, with news confirming its wrap in November. The film is scheduled for a November 2026 release.
