It’s official: Jennifer Lawrence is Katniss Everdeen again. After a year of “maybe” and “of course not,” Lawrence, 36, confirmed on the Oct. 28 episode of Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy that she reprises her star-making role in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, 11 years after Mockingjay – Part 2, and that Josh Hutcherson (Peeta) and Woody Harrelson (Haymitch) are back with her, as Variety, Deadline and ABC News all reported. The clip of her admission passed 3.7 million views on X in a day.
Watch: Jennifer Lawrence on going back to Katniss (Call Her Daddy, Oct. 28, 2026, 0:33)
What she said
Cooper put it plainly: “You and Josh are going to be in the new movie. What was it like to go back to Katniss?” Lawrence’s answer, word for word from the clip:
“Unbelievable. It was so crazy because it was the same crew. It was the same camera guys, the same AD who I’ve worked with a million times too because I love him. Josh and Woody, it was so emotional. Josh and I didn’t walk to the bathroom without our arms around each other. Like, it was so beautiful.”
In the full episode she adds that Harrelson “obviously came through the window of my hotel room uninvited,” because “it wouldn’t be the same if he listened to boundaries and used a door” (quoted by The Hollywood Reporter and People).
Why it’s a big deal
- It’s the first on-record confirmation. Variety reported last December that Lawrence and Hutcherson would film a scene, but she kept dodging. In January she told Josh Horowitz “Maybe we already have,” and in a video the day before the podcast she said, “Well, no, of course not. Maybe I’m not” (People).
- Woody is the bonus. Harrelson’s return as the older Haymitch had only been rumored until she named him.
- Where they fit. Suzanne Collins’ novel ends with a flash-forward epilogue featuring Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch, and Variety says the film appears to follow it. The story itself follows 16-year-old Haymitch (Joseph Zada) in the 50th Games, the Second Quarter Quell, with Ralph Fiennes as President Snow, Elle Fanning, Jesse Plemons, Maya Hawke, Kieran Culkin and Glenn Close in the cast.
- When. Sunrise on the Reaping opens in theaters on Nov. 20, 2026 (Lionsgate).
Film Updates’ post announcing that she “will officially reprise her star-making role as Katniss Everdeen” used the white-throne Mockingjay – Part 2 image below and pulled more than 28,000 likes.
Photos: Katniss then, Jennifer now
Katniss never undressed. Jennifer did.
Fans looking for Katniss nudity won’t find any: she is never nude in the four Hunger Games films. Her real nude scenes came after, in Red Sparrow, No Hard Feelings and Die My Love. Three of them, from our library:
Jennifer Lawrence in No Hard Feelings (2023): the nude beach fight, 0:42 · all her scenes on the hub
Jennifer Lawrence in Red Sparrow (2018): the classroom scene, 0:42 · all her scenes on the hub
Jennifer Lawrence in Die My Love (2025): the house, 0:31 · all her scenes on the hub
The podcast is fully clothed. Her Scandal Planet hub is not: Die My Love’s full-frontal scenes, the No Hard Feelings beach fight, Red Sparrow, mother! and Passengers, scene by scene with a jump menu.
Eleven years, one Oscar, two kids and a haircare brand later, and the girl on fire still can’t walk to the bathroom without Peeta. That’s the most Hunger Games sentence ever said out loud.
Woody climbing through a hotel window uninvited is exactly why Haymitch was perfect casting. Nov. 20 can’t come fast enough. Until then, Jennifer’s hottest scenes are the ones she never shot as Katniss. Watch them on her hub →
— Nico
What do you think? Will a Katniss-Peeta-Haymitch epilogue be the best part of the movie? Tell us on X @celeb124.
Photos: Mockingjay – Part 2 promo image (Lionsgate) as shared by Film Updates; red carpet, street and Mes campaign photos via CelebMafia. Clip: Call Her Daddy (Oct. 28, 2026), as shared on X by @kimichkis. Scene clips: Scandal Planet library.
