Jennifer Lawrence returns as Katniss in Hunger Games prequel

Jennifer Lawrence has confirmed on the Call Her Daddy podcast that she will reprise her role as Katniss Everdeen. The same crew returned, she said, including an assistant director she has worked with many times, and the reunion with Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson was emotional. "It was unbelievable," she said, adding that she and Hutcherson "didn't walk to the bathroom without our arms around each other."

Plot and cast

The new film, directed by Francis Lawrence, is a prequel that follows 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada) on the morning of the 50th Hunger Games, also called the Second Quarter Quell. Haymitch forms an unlikely alliance with other tributes and takes on the Capitol from within the arena. Supporting roles go to Jesse Plemons, Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, Maya Hawke, Whitney Peak and Kelvin Harrison Jr. Katniss and Peeta appear in the novel's epilogue, but their role in the film has yet to be revealed.

Tickets are on sale now, and Lionsgate has released a new IMAX poster. The film opens in theaters and IMAX on November 20, 2026.

Lawrence also shared behind-the-scenes stories from the original films. She recalled punching a fly through a window on her first day on set. For the mountainside run, where Katniss flees fireballs, the explosions were real, and she had to follow a specific route that was not clearly marked, because visible tape would have shown on camera.