Josh Hutcherson comments on potential Hunger Games return in Sunrise on the Reaping

‘I will love it forever,’ said the actor

Josh Hutcherson wants to return to The Hunger Games in the franchise’s forthcoming film prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping.

The 32-year-old starred as Peeta Mellark alongside Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen in the blockbuster adaptations of the dystopian fantasy books, written by Suzanne Collins.

Sunrise on the Reaping, based on Collins’s latest book, follows Katniss’s future mentor Haymitch Abernathy as he is chosen as one of the four tributes from District 12 to compete in the Hunger Games.

The movie is scheduled to arrive in cinemas on 20 November 2026, and the confirmed cast includes Ralph Fiennes, Kieran Culkin and Joseph Zada, star of the Australian series Invisible Boys.

Zada will play Abernathy (originally portrayed by Woody Harrelson), while Fiennes and Culkin will respectively play younger versions of President Snow (originally played by Donald Sutherland), and games host Caesar Flickerman (originally played by Stanley Tucci).

Asked about the possibility of reprising his role, Hutcherson told Brit + Co: “That’d be cool.”

However, he added there were no solid plans as of yet, adding: “No, I know nothing in that world right now.”

Hutcherson would like to return to the films (Getty Images)

“Hunger Games is amazing, and I’ve loved it for many years and I will love it forever,” he continued.

The original film series – comprising Hunger Games (2012), Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (2014) and Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (2015) – grossed over $3.3bn (£2.8bn) worldwide.

In 2023, a prequel starring Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler (titled The Hunger Games:The Ballads of Songbirds & Snakes) was released in cinemas, grossing over $300m (£225m).

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Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark and Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen in ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ (Lionsgate)

Other actors attached to the project include Jesse Plemons, Kelvin Harris Jr, Whitney Peak, Elle Fanning, Glenn Close, McKenna Grace, and Billy Porter.

The original Hunger Games film series starred Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old girl living in a segregated dystopia who became a participant in the 74th Hunger Games — a brutal event designed to suppress rebellion in the districts surrounding the oppressive Capitol.

The disturbing contest forces each district to send a boy and a girl, chosen by lottery, to compete in a deadly televised battle until only one survivor remains.