Jennifer Lawrence teases a return to Hunger Games franchise

Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games
Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games (Image credit: Lionsgate/FlixPix/Alamy Stock Photo)

Is the girl on fire coming back? Jennifer Lawrence is open to the idea of reprising her star-making turn as Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games franchise, according to reports from a recent interview.

While promoting her upcoming movie No Hard Feelings, Lawrence was asked about the character that made her a household name, specifically whether or not she would be interested in playing Katniss again should the opportunity arise.

"Oh, my God — totally," Variety reported the Oscar-winning actress as saying. "If Katniss ever could ever come back into my life, 100%."

Lawrence landed the coveted role of Katniss Everdeen in the 2012 adaptation of Suzanne Collins' best-selling young adult novel The Hunger Games. The story takes place in a dystopian future where children from different districts are forced to compete in a fight to the death to appease a ruthless dictator. Lawrence's Katniss, however, helps to light a spark that turns into a rebellion.

The original movie received strong reviews (84% "Certified Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes), made $694 million worldwide and was part of the one-two punch that catapulted Jennifer Lawrence into superstardom in 2012, along with her role in Silver Linings Playbook, for which she won the Best Actress Oscar.

She would continue to play the role in three more films covering the last two books of Collins' series — The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part Two. Lawrence's co-stars in the franchise included Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Sutherland, Liam Hemsworth, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Stanley Tucci.

The Hunger Games franchise is coming back in 2023, but as the prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad or Songbirds and Snakes that takes place many years before Lawrence's Katniss comes into the story, giving fans a look into the formative years of Sutherland's villainous President Snow.

The original movies' popularity remains as strong as ever. In March, the Hunger Games movies dominated Netflix, as all four were available to stream.

So, should an idea to continue Katniss' story ever come to fruition, it looks like Lawrence is ready to pick up her bow and arrow once again.

The Hunger Games movies are all currently streaming on Prime Video.

Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.