The Hunger Games is expected to come back to the big screen in the next few years with a film adaptation of the recent prequel novel, The Ballad of Songbird and Snakes. While it will be exciting to see President Snow’s origin story play out after over five years without the massive franchise, we will miss seeing the original cast, namely Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss, Josh Hutcherson’s Peeta, Stanley Tucci’s Caesar and Woody Harrelson’s Haymitch.
Could they one day return to the franchise for a fourth Hunger Games sequel? Along with Josh Hutcherson showing his interest in returning to the YA series, the actor has also revealed an idea he and the cast played around with when they were on set. In his words:
It’s funny. ‘Cause we actually spitballed about [where the characters would end up] on set one day. We were sort of talking about like … the Hunger Games and Peeta and Katniss are older and they have a kid and then the movie ends, but then what if we pick up the story and it’s like 10 years later and there’s a new rebellion that has to happen or something like that ended up. I’d like to hope and think that they are living happily and that the world is equal and lovely. But history is doomed to repeat itself. So I feel like there might be some more unrest that would come along.
As Josh Hutcherson explains, back when they were shooting the Hunger Games movies, they threw around some ideas about what could happen after the series’ finale, Mockingjay Part 2. One idea is that 10 years after Panem’s happy ever after, a new uprising emerges. This honestly feels like a natural occurrence that could come up in the dystopian world Suzanne Collins crafted through her books.
Could Panem really reach perfect peace for the rest of Katniss and Peeta’s lifetime? Their home dealt with almost 100 years of unrest centering on the deadly games the Capitol endangered children with every year, and suffered from an intensely imbalanced class system. Like Josh Hutcherson told Us Weekly, it's tough to imagine the pair being truly finished with the politics of Panem’s past and their own actions during the series.
The Future Man actor is just speculating, and who knows just how in depth this idea went for the cast of The Hunger Games. Still, it definitely sparks the imagination of what could happen next for Katniss and Peeta. Plus, he and the cast of the series are still close. Josh Hutcherson said he and Jennifer Lawrence had a socially-distanced dinner over summer, and he’s still in contact with other key players from the movie series.
The actor sounds like he misses being part of the franchise, but there’s not exactly a place for him in The Ballad of Songbird and Snakes, set to be directed by Francis Lawrence (who helmed Catching Fire and both Mockingjay movies). The prequel centers on President Snow as a teenager when he must mentor a District 12 tribute, long before Peeta was even a bun in the oven.
We’ll keep you updated on what’s next Hunger Games here on CinemaBlend. In the meantime, the complete series is available to stream on Tubi.
