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Is Jennifer Lawrence returning to The Hunger Games franchise?

In 2012, Jennifer Lawrence was already a star on the rise thanks to her Oscar-nominated turn in Winter’s Bone and her starring role as Mystique in X-Men: First Class. However, Lawrence’s career reached even greater heights when she was cast as Katniss Everdeen in the film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games. Lawrence reprised her role for three sequels, which adapted the remaining two novels in Collins’ trilogy. Those films not only firmly established Lawrence as a box-office draw, but they also made her an icon in the Young Adult film genre.

Lawrence has since moved on from the franchise, and she earned an Oscar for Best Actress for her starring turn in Silver Linings Playbook. But despite leaving Katniss behind eight years ago, there is still interest in seeing Lawrence revisit one of her most famous roles. While promoting her latest film, No Hard Feelings, the question of a potential Hunger Games return was directly posed to Lawrence. And she gave a fairly definitive answer about her feelings for the character that helped make her a superstar.

Is Jennifer Lawrence returning to The Hunger Games franchise?

Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games.
Lionsgate

During a recent interview with Variety, Lawrence was asked if she would be willing to reprise her role as Katniss in the future. And her response was emphatically positive.

“Oh, my God – totally!” exclaimed Lawrence. “If Katniss ever could ever come back into my life, 100%.” She also added that her “producing partner just clutched her heart [off camera].”

Is there a sequel to The Hunger Games novels?

hunger games mockingjay
Image used with permission by copyright holder

There is not a Hunger Games sequel beyond the third novel, Mockingjay, which was adapted as two movies. While Collins has written a fourth novel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, it serves as a prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy.

What happened to Katniss at the end of The Hunger Games trilogy?

Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games.
Lionsgate

Despite leading the rebel districts to victory over President Snow, Katniss was traumatized by her ordeal. After narrowly escaping prosecution for assassinating the power-hungry President Coin, Katniss retreated to District 12 and retired to live a quiet life alongside Peeta, whom she later married. In the decades that followed, Katniss and Peeta had two children, but she remained haunted by the things she did during the Hunger Games and the rebellion.

What is The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes about?

A boy looks into the eyes of a girl alongside a fence in The Hunger Games prequel.
Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes / Murray Close

The upcoming film adaptation takes place decades before the first Hunger Games movie. It follows a young Coriolanus “Coryo” Snow (Tom Blyth) as he mentors a young woman from District 12, Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), for the 10th annual Hunger Games. Snow’s alliance with Lucy will also pave the way for his eventual rise to power as the President of Panem.

Lionsgate will release The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes in theaters on Friday, November 17.

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Blair Marnell
Blair Marnell has been an entertainment journalist for over 15 years. His bylines have appeared in Wizard Magazine, Geek…
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