Actor Josh Hutcherson rose to prominence after he starred as Peeta Mellark in The Hunger Games franchise opposite Jennifer Lawrence. The actor was highly appreciated for his work in the franchise and even earned three MTV Movie Awards and the People’s Choice Award. Hutcherson was challenged to play Peeta Mellark in The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1 & 2 as his character goes through a significant personality change.
Over the years he has appeared in projects including Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Red Dawn, The Disaster Artist, Burn, and others. But it is Peeta Mellark that fans always go back to, and recently the actor shared his idea about what could be the sequel.
The Hunger Games actor Josh Hutcherson is ready to play Peeta Mellark again
Actor Josh Hutcherson, who will be seen in a supernatural horror film, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, as Mike Schmidt, is widely known for his role in The Hunger Games franchise. The 19-year-old Josh Hutcherson landed the role of Peeta Mellark opposite Jennifer Lawrence, who played Katniss Everdeen, in 2011.
In speaking to Parade in 2012, the actor was asked if he connected to his character, to which he said that Peeta is all about staying true to oneself. Hutcherson mentioned that his character goes into the Games and does everything to maintain what he believes in and not become just another pawn. He further said,
Growing up in the acting world, you have a lot of opportunities to change who you are and what you believe in based on how people treat you. I never wanted to do that. And that’s what Peeta’s driving through the series.
Josh Hutcherson also shared during the interview that he had read all three books in five days. He also recalled that he, along with the director Gary Ross, worked on making Peeta Mellark less sappy just because he was admitting his love to Katniss. He noted that Mellark takes a lot of strength from Lawrence’s character while she learns how to open up emotionally.
The actor recently attended the Dream It Convention in Paris, where he was asked about his beloved character, and he said he’d happily play Peeta Mellark again. Hutcherson noted (via Pop Base),
I’m curious to know what happens between when they have their family and where the story ends, just to understand what happened in the world. But I’m down.
In the epilogue of Mockingjay, Katniss Everdeen revealed that the couple has a son and a daughter. Lawrence’s character addresses her PTSD but goes on to establish that she and Peeta Mellark are happily married.
Can Josh Hutcherson’s sequel idea save The Hunger Games franchise?
The success of The Hunger Games led the franchise to explore the prequel movie, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. It starred Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, and others. The movie follows Blyth’s character, Coriolanus Snow, being called to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, played by Zegler, as a Games tribute and seeks to restore his family’s prosperity in Panem.
Upon release, the movie received mixed reviews as it failed to draw the audience to the theaters. It opened to $98 million worldwide, and there were plenty of reasons why the movie did not work as it was expected to do wonders. (via Deadline) The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes received very little press due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Fans also believed that the prequel failed to garner attention because The Mockingjay Part 2 was released eight years ago. Another reason was the fact that The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes wasn’t popular enough compared to The Hunger Games trilogy.
Despite the prequel receiving mixed reviews, fans believe that Josh Hutcherson’s idea of exploring the life of Peeta and Katniss is a very promising one. The ones who invested their time and mind in praising the two tributes would love to see how they have been living their lives with the kids. It’s always endearing for the audience to visit their favorite characters to explore what their lives are like in the current times.
Fans also believe that the idea is intriguing and would love to see the two actors back on-screen together.
The actor back in 2023 had mentioned to Screenrant that if the makers could get him, Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, and Elizabeth Banks, he’d be 100% down to reprise his character.
The Hunger Games movies are streaming on Hulu.
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