Can you believe it's been more than a decade since Jennifer Lawrence volunteered as tribute?
That's right, The Hunger Games hit theaters in March 2012, immediately taking over for Twilight as Hollywood's book-to-screen obsession. Based on Suzanne Collins' bestselling novels, the Gary Ross-directed film introduced audiences to a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future in which a boy and a girl from each of the nation's 12 Districts are chosen annually as tributes and forced to compete in a televised fight to the death. And you thought your high school experience felt like hell.
Already nominated for an Oscar for her performance in 2010's Winter's Bone, Lawrence's turn as the ferocious Katniss Everdeen launched her into mega-stardom, along with her costars and onscreen love interests Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth. The trio would suit up for three more movies following the massive success of The Hunger Games, the franchise collectively grossing almost $2 billion worldwide.
And on Nov. 17, the prequel, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, will finally slither into theaters.
The film—starring Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Rachel Zegler, Hunter Schafer—winds the clock back more than 60 years, focusing on the 10th annual Reaping Ceremony and another feisty young girl from District 12. Will the odds be ever in their favor? We'll just have to wait and see.
And while we wait to discover if the odds will be in her favor, check out these 20 secrets you might not know about the original movie, including all the actors who auditioned for the three lead roles and which co-star Lawrence accidentally knocked unconscious during filming.
This story was first published on Wednesday, March 23, 2022 at 10:07 a.m. PT.