Jennifer Lawrence confirms Hunger Games return for herself and co-stars

The US actress, 36, also revealed Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson will return as Peeta Mellark and Haymitch Abernathy respectively in the upcoming film.It follows months of speculation about whether the original cast will appear in the latest addition to the franchise, which is a prequel set 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games.Appearing on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Lawrence reflected on how it felt to return to the series that made her a star.“It was unbelievable,” she told host Alex Cooper. “It was so crazy. It was the same crew.Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson, pictured in 2013, will reunite on-screen in the new Hunger Games film (Matt Crossick/PA)PA Archive“With Josh and Woody, it was so emotional.“Josh and I didn’t walk to the bathroom without our arms around each other. It was so beautiful.”The actress joked: “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.”The first Hunger Games film was released in 2012 and was based on Suzanne Collins’s best-selling dystopian novel about a totalitarian society that forces young people to fight to the death on live television.The franchise spawned a series of blockbuster films and helped propel Lawrence and Hutcherson to global fame.Gwendoline Christie, Natalie Dormer, Jennifer Lawrence, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson starred in the original Hunger Games trilogy (Ian West/PA)PA ArchiveLiam Hemsworth, Sam Claflin and Amandla Stenberg also starred in the hit franchise.Collins expanded The Hunger Games universe in 2020 with her prequel novel The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes, which was adapted into a film released in 2023 starring Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth and Hunter Schafer.Her latest instalment, Sunrise On The Reaping, was published in 2025.After the film adaptation was announced, speculation grew about a return of the original cast, as the novel features an epilogue with the original characters Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch.The upcoming film stars Joseph Zada as a younger Haymitch during the brutal events of the 50th Hunger Games, in which he competes alongside fellow tributes including Maysilee Donner, played by Mckenna Grace.The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping will be released in cinemas across the UK on November 20.