Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are expected to reprise their roles as Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark in “The Hunger Games” prequel, “Sunrise on the Reaping.”
The Lionsgate movie is based on the latest novel by Suzanne Collins and follows the events of the 50th Hunger Games, 24 years before Katniss and Peeta first entered the killing field as the tributes for District 12 with Haymitch Abernathy as their mentor. The story centers on Haymitch’s experience in the games when he was 16; Joseph Zada assumes the role of the young man, played by Woody Harrelson in the original film series.
The nature of Lawrence and Hutcherson’s cameo is being kept under wraps, but as book readers will know, their beloved characters appear alongside Haymitch in the epilogue, which indicates some sort of flash-forward.
“Sunrise on the Reaping” is slated for release on Nov. 20. Francis Lawrence, who has helmed every installment of the franchise since 2012’s “Catching Fire,” directs from a screenplay written by Billy Ray, with Brad Simpson and Nina Jacobson returning as producers. The five films in the franchise so far have taken in over $3.3 billion at the box office.
While the original “The Hunger Games” movies made megastars out of Lawrence, Hutcherson and their co-star Liam Hemsworth more than a decade ago, the pair have been plenty busy of late, too. On Monday, Lawrence earned her seventh Golden Globe nomination for her latest film “Die My Love,” adding to her award-winning pedigree that includes an Oscar for best actress. Meanwhile, Hutcherson is relishing the successful launches of “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” and the HBO series “I Love L.A.”
In a recent interview with Variety, Hutcherson hinted at a possible return to the franchise. “I would love to be back on set with Francis, with Jen, with Liam, with Woody [Harrelson],” he said. “It would not take any convincing at all. I’d be there in a heartbeat.”
Then, when asked more directly about whether that film would include the coda scene, Hutcherson played it cool. “That would be a dream come true,” he replied, holding interviewer Adam B. Vary’s gaze. “Do dreams come true? Sometimes. Sometimes not. Sometimes, yeah.”
“Sunrise on the Reaping” also stars Elle Fanning as a younger version of Effie Trinket (originally played by Elizabeth Banks); Ralph Fiennes plays President Coriolanus Snow (preivously played by Donald Sutherland in the original films and Tom Blyth in the “Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” prequel); Kieran Culkin is TV host Caesar Flickerman (previously played by Stanley Tucci); and Jesse Plemons is Plutarch Heavensbee (previously played by Philip Seymour Hoffman). Kelvin Harrison Jr., Glenn Close, Maya Hawke, Mckenna Grace, Billy Porter, Whitney Peak, Ben Wang, Molly McCann, Iona Bell and Percy Daggs IV round out the all-star cast.
A representative for the studio did not respond to a request for comment. Lawrence is represented by LBI Entertainment and Hutcherson is repped by the Gersh Agency and TFC Management.
Their involvement in the film was first reported by The Insneider.
