Hunger Games Star Jennifer Lawrence Addresses Prequel Cameo Rumors

By Patrick Cavanaugh

Jennifer Lawrence's breakout role came as Katniss Everdeen in four The Hunger Games movies, with the success of those films also leading to the development of the prequel film The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, based on the novel of the same name. The movie takes place decades before Katniss was born, but some audiences have wondered if Lawrence could appear as an ancestor of her iconic hero, though she recently shot down such a notion. While we can't rule out a franchise return from Lawrence in any capacity at some point in the future, it sounds as though the notion of playing her character's grandmother is nothing more than a rumor. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is slated to hit theaters on November 17th.

During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Lawrence was directly asked if she would have a cameo as Katniss' grandmother, to which Lawrence scoffed, "Oh, because I'm 49 in Hollywood years, huh? No. That's not true."

Even though the notion of Lawrence returning to the franchise for a prequel film seems unlikely, Peter Jackson's The Hobbit films featured a cameo from The Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, so there's already a precedent for featuring an unexpected appearance from a beloved franchise star in a prequel. However, with The Hunger Games franchise being devoid of the magic of Middle-earth, there might be other complications to justify such an appearance.

Despite Lawrence shooting down the notion of this cameo, she's open to reviving Katniss for a future film.

"Oh, my God – totally!" Lawrence confirmed to Variety earlier this month in regards to possibly bringing back the character. "If Katniss ever could ever come back into my life, 100 percent... My producing partner just clutched her heart."  

In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), the girl tribute from impoverished District 12. But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem's attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy's race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.  

The prequel also stars Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman, Laurel Marsden, Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Jose Andrés Rivera, Ashley Liao, Mackenzie Lansing, Irene Boehm, Cooper Dillon, Luna Kuse, Kjell Brutscheidt, Dimitri Abold, Athena Strates, Dakota Shapiro, George Somner and Vaughan Reilly, Lilly Maria Cooper, Sofia Sannchez, and Max Raphael.

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The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is slated to hit theaters on November 17th.

Would you like to see Lawrence make a return to the franchise? Let us know in the comments!  

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