Hunger Games stars Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are enjoying a banner year, with their latest movie hits coinciding with the resurging popularity of the Hunger Games franchise.
Lawrence and Hutcherson played Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, respectively, in the previous four films based on the young adult dystopian novels by Suzanne Collins.
The newest Hunger Games release currently in theaters, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds, is a prequel starring Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth.
And while Lawrence and Hutcherson are not in the latest installment of the franchise, they remained besties throughout the filming of all four previous Hunger Games movies, the last of which was in theaters in 2015, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.
After taking a conscious step back from the public eye and acting, Lawrence came back strong with her first comedy film in last year's No Hard Feelings, which was a commercial success on Netflix, debuting at #1 as the most streamed title of the week.
Hutcherson's horror video game adaptation Five Nights at Freddy's enjoyed the best opening weekend for a horror film in 2023, debuting at $80 million at the box office. It was considered Blumhouse Production's best opening, surpassing Halloween's $76.2 million.
Lawrence recently reached out to her former co-star and highlighted their shared achievements in a text, which Hutcherson proudly shared online.
He recalled the sweet message Lawrence wrote celebrating Freddy's box office success during the same weekend No Hard Feelings hit #1.
“Jen texted me when 'Freddy’s’ came out,” he said, adding:
“She was like, ‘My movie’s #1 on Netflix, and yours is #1 at the box office! Let’s go!’ I was like, ‘I love you!'”
Fans adored their interaction.
It's unlikely we will see Lawrence and Hutcherson reprising their Hunger Games roles.
The film's producers Nina Jacobson and Francis Lawrence shut down rumors after Lawrence expressed interest in suiting up again as Katniss if there was such an opportunity in the future.
But Jacobson said it would only happen under the condition the book's author had another story to tell that would bring back Lawrence's character.
“Honestly, as much as I love Katniss, I think her story is complete," Jacobson told Yahoo Entertainment while promoting The Ballad of Songbirds.
"And I think that Suzanne feels that her story is complete. But if that changes, and Suzanne has something she wants to say, and it involves Katniss, then I would be thrilled."
"But really any chance to be back in this world, and lead with Francis and Suzanne, I would take regardless of who it was about.”
Meanwhile, Hutcherson kept beaming over Freddy's success.
During a press junket for his latest action film, The Beekeeper, Hutcherson hinted that a Freddy's sequel might be a strong possibility in the future.
“I know they’re in the process right now of nailing down the story, and they want to get going as soon as possible,” Hutcherson said, according to Variety.
“Obviously, the fans are amazing and die hard. For me to be a part of it was was so cool and phenomenal.
“We hoped it would connect with audiences, but I don’t think that anybody, even on our side of things, expected it to really connect the way that it did."
"I’m dying to get back on set. Emma Tammi, our director, was fantastic, and it was such a fun world to play in. I’m excited to see what they are doing next.”
We hope he and Lawrence will soon team up for another movie, ideally with a premise in which their lives aren't at stake.
@GregAbbott_TX/X
