Jennifer Lawrence has confirmed she is back as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, ending more than a year of speculation. The Oscar winner made the admission on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast this week, less than a month before the prequel opens in theaters on November 20.
Lawrence had dodged the question for months, but on the podcast she spoke openly about stepping back into the role that turned her into a global star, and about reuniting with her original co-stars.
What We Know
According to TheWrap and Gizmodo, Lawrence confirmed on the latest “Call Her Daddy” episode that she returns as Katniss in the new film. Asked what it was like, she called the experience “unbelievable” and said, “It was so emotional.”
She also described an affectionate reunion with Josh Hutcherson, who played Peeta Mellark in the original four films. “Josh and I, like, didn’t walk to the bathroom without our arms around each other,” Lawrence said on the podcast.
Woody Harrelson, the original Haymitch Abernathy, is also part of the film, according to both outlets. Lawrence joked about his famously relaxed approach to personal space: “It wouldn’t be the same if he listened to boundaries and used a door.”
How much screen time Katniss gets remains unclear. In Suzanne Collins’ 2025 novel, Katniss and Peeta appear only in a short epilogue set in the present day, in which an older Haymitch talks to them about his past. Gizmodo noted it is not yet known whether the film follows that structure exactly, so fans should not expect a full-scale Katniss storyline.
Background
Sunrise on the Reaping is set 24 years before the events of the original Hunger Games. It follows a teenage Haymitch Abernathy through the 50th Hunger Games, the brutal “Quarter Quell” he survived before becoming Katniss’s mentor. Joseph Zada plays young Haymitch for most of the film, while the wider cast includes Ralph Fiennes and Glenn Close, Gizmodo reported.
Reports that Lawrence and Hutcherson would appear first circulated in December 2025, TheWrap noted, though at the time it was not clear whether they would reprise their original characters. When Lawrence was asked about it on Josh Horowitz’s “Happy Sad Confused” podcast earlier this year, she kept things vague.
The original Hunger Games series, released between 2012 and 2015, made Lawrence one of Hollywood’s biggest names during the same stretch in which she won the best actress Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook. The franchise also boosted the careers of co-stars such as Liam Hemsworth and Elizabeth Banks, and was successfully revived in 2023 with The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, starring Rachel Zegler.
Reactions
Lawrence’s open confirmation stood out because studios usually keep cameo appearances under wraps until release. Gizmodo pointed out that it is unusual for a returning franchise star to talk about her role this freely before the film is out, while TheWrap described it as an outright confirmation after her earlier coy answers.
What’s Next
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping arrives in theaters on November 20. With the premiere and press tour approaching, more details about how Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch fit into the story are likely to surface in the coming weeks.
For a closer look at the actress’s life and career, read our full Jennifer Lawrence biography.
Sources
- TheWrap – Jennifer Lawrence outright confirms return as Katniss in ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’
- Gizmodo – Jennifer Lawrence confirms her ‘Hunger Games’ return
- The Hollywood Reporter – Jennifer Lawrence finally confirms ‘Hunger Games’ return in ‘Sunrise’