Katniss, Peeta Return for New Hunger Games Movie

Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are set to return to the Hunger Games franchise, reprising their roles as Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark in the upcoming prequel film, Sunrise on the Reaping, the Hollywood Reporter confirms. The film, directed by Francis Lawrence and based on Suzanne Collins' novel, is scheduled for release on Nov. 20, 2026. Lawrence has directed all of the Hunger Games films since the second, Catching Fire.

The story is set in Panem during the reaping for the 50th Hunger Games—a full 24 years before the events of the original Hunger Games novel, which came out in 2008. Lawrence and Hutcherson's last appearance in the franchise was in 2015's The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 2, which concluded with their characters married with children. Though details of their appearance in the prequel have been disclosed, the Reporter hypothesizes they'll be seen in a flash-forward.

The prequel focuses on the character of Haymitch Abernathy, the mentor to Katniss and Peeta played by Woody Harrelson in the original films, and his time in the Games, Variety reports. Other cast members include Ralph Fiennes as President Snow (played by Donald Sutherland in the original films), Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci), and Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks).