The torch has officially been passed in Panem, but the new tributes aren’t forgetting the girl who started it all.
As the highly anticipated prequel The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes nears its November release, the cast is opening up about the “inevitable” pressure of following in Jennifer Lawrence’s footsteps—and it turns out, they’re just as big of fans as we are.
During the film’s high-glamour press tour, Euphoria star Hunter Schafer, who plays a young Tigris Snow, revealed a simple but iconic wish: she wants to grab a drink with the Oscar winner.
It’s a sentiment shared by her co-star Tom Blyth, who takes on the heavy task of playing a younger version of the villainous Coriolanus Snow. While Donald Sutherland made the character legendary in the original films, Blyth says he’s grateful for the distance between the two eras.
Blyth praised producers for making “an effort to let this be a moment where we get to experience it for the first time” by keeping the prequel cast separate from the original stars during filming.
“It is such a stand-alone, fresh movie that isn’t kind of a follow-on,” Blyth explained to E! News. “I think they’ve honored that really sweetly in the way that that’s kind of giving a space to experience it fresh.”
However, the “Katniss Everdeen” of the prequel, Rachel Zegler, had a much closer encounter with the woman who put District on the map. Zegler plays Lucy Gray Baird, a nomadic singer who finds herself fighting for her life in the th annual Hunger Games.
Zegler admitted she was actually relieved that she didn’t meet Lawrence until after production wrapped. “It relieves you of pressure,” she shared, noting that “comparisons are inevitable.”
When the two finally did cross paths, it was a total lovefest. “It was really wonderful,” Zegler recalled. “We have so many people in common. It was like catching up with a friend.”
Fans on X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok have been losing it over the bond between the two leading ladies, especially after Zegler paid a stunning tribute to Lawrence at the Berlin premiere.
The West Side Story actress hit the red carpet in a breathtaking black Alexander McQueen ballgown that featured a fiery hemline—a direct nod to the iconic “Girl on Fire” dress Katniss wore in ‘s Catching Fire.
“I was so excited to get it because it reminded me of the silhouette of Jennifer’s dress in the film,” Zegler told E!. “I feel really thankful that the public responded the way that they did.”
The prequel promises a much grittier look at the Capitol’s history, featuring a powerhouse cast including Viola Davis as the chilling Dr. Volumnia Gaul and Peter Dinklage as Casca Highbottom, the man credited with inventing the Games.
We also get to see the origins of characters like Tigris, whom fans remember as the feline-looking stylist from Mockingjay – Part . For Schafer, bringing a younger, more vulnerable Tigris to life was a dream—though we’re still holding out hope that she gets that drink with J.Law.
With the film just around the corner, the “Mockingjay” whistle is sounding louder than ever. May the odds be ever in their favor!
Jennifer Lawrence And Josh Hutcherson Are Returning To The Hunger Games Universe
The rumors are true, and months of denials have officially aged like milk. Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are reportedly returning to the world of Panem, reprising their iconic roles as Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark in Lionsgate’s highly anticipated prequel, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
At first, the idea seemed impossible. The new film takes place decades before Katniss ever volunteered for the Hunger Games, making the return of Lawrence and Hutcherson appear unlikely. However, the filmmakers have reportedly found a clever way to bring the beloved characters back without disrupting the timeline of the original trilogy.
The key is a framing device reportedly taken from Suzanne Collins’ latest novel. The story is expected to feature an older Katniss and Peeta spending time with Haymitch Abernathy as he tells them about the horrifying experience he endured during his own Hunger Games. This approach gives fans an opportunity to see the original characters again while allowing the prequel to remain focused on Haymitch’s story.
The revelation is especially amusing considering Josh Hutcherson’s recent comments about the project. For months, the actor insisted that he knew nothing about the upcoming film and emphasized how much he still loved the franchise. In Hollywood, however, such denials can often mean that a carefully worded confidentiality agreement is keeping the truth under wraps. Fans now have plenty of reason to laugh at those earlier statements.
Sunrise on the Reaping centers on the 50th Hunger Games, known as the Second Quarter Quell. This particular Games was designed to be especially brutal, with twice the usual number of tributes being sent into the arena. The story follows a young Haymitch as he struggles to survive one of the most devastating and psychologically intense Games in Panem’s history.
Bringing Katniss and Peeta into the story through a framing sequence could create an emotional connection between Haymitch’s past and the characters fans have followed since the beginning of the franchise. It also gives Lawrence and Hutcherson a chance to return without changing the events established in the original films.
Fans have already taken to social media to celebrate the reported reunion, with many joking about how successfully the actors managed to keep the secret. The combination of familiar stars, Suzanne Collins’ source material, and director Francis Lawrence returning has created enormous anticipation.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is scheduled to arrive in theaters on November 20, 2026. Whether Katniss and Peeta appear only briefly or play a more meaningful role remains unclear, but their return could make this new chapter one of the franchise’s biggest cinematic events yet.
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