Hunger Games Prequel Release Set: Lawrence Confirms Cast Return

Jennifer Lawrence is back in the Hunger Games franchise for the upcoming prequel, In Sunrise on the Reaping. The film is scheduled to open in theaters on Nov. 20, which is next month. Lawrence confirmed her return as Katniss Everdeen, putting an end to months of speculation about her involvement in the project.

The production marks a reunion for the lead actors of the original series. Lawrence stated that she worked again with Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson, both of whom had been rumored to return for the new installment. The movie is set 24 years before the events of the first film. It follows 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy, played by Joseph Zada, as he competes in the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell. In this edition of the games, twice the usual number of tributes are forced to fight to the death. Ralph Fiennes appears in the film as President Snow. Legacy characters from the original movies are expected to appear in flashforwards or a framing device.

Lawrence discussed her return in an interview with Alex Cooper, host of the Call Her Daddy podcast. She described the experience of being back on set as "unbelievable." She noted that the production crew was nearly identical to the one that worked on the original films. "It was the same crew. It was the same camera guys, the same AD, who I've worked with a million times," she said.

The actress said the reunion with her former co-stars was "so emotional." She added that she and Hutcherson rarely went anywhere without their arms around each other during the shoot. "It was so beautiful," she recalled. Harrelson, she noted, maintained his habit of making dramatic entrances. According to Lawrence, he entered her hotel room through the window without being invited. "It wouldn't be the same if he listened to boundaries and used a door," she joked.

Lawrence also revisited a controversial moment from the franchise's history. In 2013, she cut her hair into a pixie cut after producers initially refused to provide a wig for the role of Katniss in Mockingjay. She had grown frustrated with the process of dyeing her hair brown for the character. She later described the short style as "the worst haircut anyone has ever seen in their life." The look became widely recognized and associated with the film series.