How Katniss & Peeta Will Return in ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ Movie, Based on the Book
What To Know
- Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are set to appear in Sunrise on the Reaping.
- Sunrise on the Reaping takes place over two decades before the events of The Hunger Games.
- Woody Harrelson, the original Haymitch, hasn’t been confirmed for the prequel.
[Warning: The following contains spoilers for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins.]
Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark will return for Sunrise on the Reaping: “Real or not real?”
On December 10, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that OG Hunger Games stars Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson would reprise their roles, and the streets are saying the entire world stopped spinning for just a second to take in the monumental news. However, for anyone who hasn’t read Sunrise on the Reaping but knows that the novel takes place 24 years before The Hunger Games with young Haymitch (Joseph Zada) as the central character, it’s a little hard to imagine Lawrence and Hutcherson are returning to play Katniss and Peeta before they were born.
So, how will Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson fit into Sunrise on the Reaping? Are Katniss and Peeta even in the book? And does this mean Woody Harrelson will also reprise his role somewhere in the movie? Scroll to find out everything you need to know about Katniss and Peeta’s place in Sunrise on the Reaping.
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Are Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson returning for Sunrise on the Reaping?
Yes, Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson have finally been confirmed as members of the Sunrise on the Reaping cast, joining franchise newbies like Joseph Zada, McKenna Grace, Whitney Peak, Elle Fanning, and more. Check out the full cast of the movie, and watch the first preview of the highly anticipated movie in Swooon‘s extensive Sunrise on the Reaping hub — or should we say, Hob?
Are Katniss and Peeta in the Sunrise on the Reaping book?
Katniss and Peeta appear in the epilogue of Sunrise on the Reaping, which takes place after the events of Mockingjay. In the short flash-forward scene, Haymitch reflects on his late-love Lenore Dove, who still comes to him in visions. He says that she has grown older with him, admitting, “She’s not angry or dying, so I think she’s forgiven me.” While he wants to go with her, he continues to say, “She says I can’t come to her yet. I have to look after my family.” Reading that, we’re having a vision, too. It’s everyone sobbing their eyes out in the theater come November 2026.
Haymitch reflects on meeting Katniss and Peeta, telling readers, “I didn’t want to let them in, [Katniss] and Peeta, but the walls of a person’s heart are not impregnable, not if they have ever known love. That’s what Lenore Dove says, anyway.”
In the epilogue, Katniss and Peeta are working on their post-war memorial book. While Haymitch doesn’t see the point, questioning why someone would want to “relive all the loss,” he feels compelled to share stories about Katniss’s dad, Burdock, Maysilee Donner, and his brother, Sid. He explains, “Before I knew it, they all came tumbling out: family, tributes, friends, comrades in arms, everybody, even my love. I finally told our story.”
After Haymitch tells them about Lenore Dove, Katniss brings him goose eggs to hatch, and Peeta builds him an incubator, so that he can raise the goslings just as Lenore had long ago. In the Meadow, with his geese, Haymitch tells readers, “Lenore Dove likes it best there, and I’m content where she’s content. Like the geese, we really did mate for life.”
While this is the perfect ending to Haymitch’s story in the book, we are curious to see what they do in the movie, as Effie (Elizabeth Banks) plays a larger role in his life in the film series. While she was not in the Mockingjay book, she stayed close to Haymitch in both Mockingjay films and survived the war as well. Could she be a part of Haymitch’s “family” in the movie, too?
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Will Woody Harrelson be in Sunrise on the Reaping?
At this point, Woody Harrelson has not been confirmed to return to reprise his role in Sunrise on the Reaping. That being said, a clip of his voice from the original series is used in the trailer. With Lawrence and Hutcherson returning, we’d expect to see an announcement that Harrelson will return soon.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, In Theaters, November 20, 2026
