Jennifer Lawrence Confirms Her Return as Katniss in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping

Jennifer Lawrence is returning as Katniss Everdeen for the first time in 11 years in The Hunger Games franchise.

Lawrence confirmed that she is reprising her role in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, alongside Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson, who are returning as Peeta Mellark and Haymitch Abernathy, respectively.

During an appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Lawrence described her return as “unbelievable” and “so crazy.”

The actress reunited with the same crew, including the assistant director she had worked with on previous films. Lawrence also described her reunion with Hutcherson as emotional, revealing that they were so close during filming that they “didn’t walk to the bathroom without our arms around each other.”

Lawrence said, “It was unbelievable.” She added, “It was so crazy. It was the same crew. It was the same AD, who I’ve worked with a million times because I love him. And with Josh [Hutcherson] and Woody [Harrelson] … it was so emotional. Josh and I didn’t walk to the bathroom without our arms around each other. It was so beautiful. And Woody, obviously, came through the window of my hotel room uninvited. It wouldn’t be the same if he listened to boundaries or used a door.”

Lawrence led four Hunger Games movies as Katniss from 2012 to 2015. Including the Rachel Zegler-led prequel The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023), the franchise has earned $3.3 billion at the global box office.

“What made me nervous was how it could negatively affect my acting career and personal life,” Lawrence said on the Call Her Daddy podcast, recalling her biggest concern about joining the franchise at age 20. “The one thing I was always sure of when I was younger was that I wanted to be a mom, and this looked so different than doing some indies. Twilight had just come out, and everybody saw what that was. It was more like… how is this going to change my life and my acting career?”

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping takes place 24 years before the first film. Sixteen-year-old Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada) is selected to compete in the 50th Hunger Games.

Every 25th edition of the Games, known as a Quarter Quell, introduces a special twist to the annual rules. For the 50th Hunger Games, each district of Panem must send twice the usual number of tributes to the Capitol, where they will fight to the death in a televised spectacle.

Based on Suzanne Collins’ 2025 novel, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping marks the sixth film in the franchise. Directed by Francis Lawrence and written by Billy Ray and Michael Lesslie, it connects the events of The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023) with the original The Hunger Games (2012). Its ensemble cast includes Joseph Zada, Jesse Plemons, Ralph Fiennes, Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, Mckenna Grace, Maya Hawke, Whitney Peak, and Kelvin Harrison Jr.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is scheduled to hit theaters in the United States on November 20, 2026.