As I’m sure you’ll know, Josh and Jennifer starred as Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen in all four original Hunger Games movies, which were adapted from Suzanne Collins’s trilogy of books.
While promoting the different films over the course of four years, starting in 2012, the costars shared countless adorable moments in press junkets and on red carpets, solidifying themselves as a beloved duo among fans, both on- and off-screen.
And though it’s been over eight years since the last Hunger Games movie hit theaters in 2015, the franchise recently saw a resurgence in popularity thanks to the release of the prequel film, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, starring Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth.
To make matters more exciting, the Hunger Games renaissance of 2023 also happened to coincide with career highs for both Josh and Jennifer.
Similarly, Josh had a major hit with his movie Five Nights at Freddy’s, which earned $80 million at the domestic box office over its opening weekend in October, smashing critics’ expectations.
Around the same time that Freddy’s hit theaters, Jen’s No Hard Feelings also debuted on Netflix, quickly topping the streaming charts.
And now, in a new interview with Variety, Josh revealed that his former Hunger Games costar reached out to celebrate their respective wins.
“Jen texted me when Freddy’s came out,” he told the outlet. “She was like, ‘My movie’s No. 1 on Netflix, and yours is No. 1 at the box office! Let’s go!’”
“I was like, ‘I love you!’” he added, making it clear that their friendship is as strong as ever.
While promoting No Hard Feelings last year, Jennifer sparked excitement among Hunger Games fans by saying that she’d be “100 percent” interested in reprising her role as Katniss if the opportunity arose.
However, it wasn’t long before the bosses behind the franchise quickly shut down the possibility, breaking fans’ hearts in the process.
“Honestly, as much as I love Katniss, I think her story is complete,” producer Nina Jacobson told Yahoo Entertainment in November. “And I think that Suzanne [Collins] feels that her story is complete.”
“If that changes, and Suzanne has something she wants to say, and it involves Katniss, then I would be thrilled,” she added. “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.”
And so, while it seems unlikely that we’ll be seeing Josh and Jennifer back on screen as Peeta and Katniss anytime soon, fans haven’t been deterred from theorizing that the real-life pals might also make perfect leads in a romantic comedy movie.
