Maya Hawke Teases Jennifer Lawrence’s Return as Hunger Games Prequel Builds Momentum

Overview

• On The Tonight Show, Hawke praised the franchise as “explicitly anti-fascist” despite its mainstream reach.
• She indicated Jennifer Lawrence will appear in Sunrise on the Reaping, though the star has not made a direct public statement.
• Hawke plays Wiress, while Elle Fanning, cast as a young Effie Trinket, described her on-set experience and “good costumes.”
• The story is set 24 years before Katniss’s saga, beginning on the morning of the reaping for the 50th Hunger Games with Joseph Zada as Haymitch.
• Director Francis Lawrence returns with a large ensemble including Mckenna Grace, Jesse Plemons, Ralph Fiennes, Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin and Billy Porter, and Lionsgate has set a Nov. 20, 2026 theatrical release.