The Hunger Games Producers Destroyed Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss Return Hopes

After establishing herself as a talent on the rise with 2010's "Winter's Bone," Jennifer Lawrence became a household name and the face of a franchise with "The Hunger Games." Now, several years removed from the final installment, 2015's "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2," Lawrence still hasn't tired of the bow-wielding Katniss Everdeen — but that doesn't mean a return is imminent.

In June, when the actress was promoting her comedy "No Hard Feelings," she emphatically stated that she would be willing to reprise the role that made her famous. "Oh, my God — totally!" Lawrence told Variety. "If Katniss ever could ever come back into my life, 100 percent."

Unfortunately for Lawrence, the Hunger Games producers summarily squashed that dream. "Honestly, as much as I love Katniss, I think her story is complete," producer Nina Jacobson told Yahoo Entertainment. For Jacobson, Katniss' return hinges on Suzanne Collins, the author of the Hunger Games series. "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."

When it comes to the Hunger Games franchise — and the fate of Katniss Everdeen – Suzanne Collins is the keeper of the keys. She penned the first Hunger Games installment in 2008 and was a key player in the movie adaptations, serving as an executive producer and collaborating with the screenwriters.

Luckily for fans, Collins isn't done with the Hunger Games universe. In 2020, she published the prequel "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" and quickly worked to develop the book into a film. It is set to debut on November 17. "If Suzanne has something to say," Jacobson added in the same Yahoo Entertainment interview, "then she'll write a book about it."

Director Francis Lawrence — who helmed the last three mainline Hunger Games films and the forthcoming prequel — is similarly trusting in Collins' process. "What I've always loved is that Suzanne usually writes these things because she has a thematic idea she wants to explore," he said. "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" will have a different thematic feel than the previous Hunger Games entries. The story follows a young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) as he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) in the 10th annual Hunger Games.

Lawrence continued, "So I think that if for whatever reason she had some thematic idea that made sense to tell another Katniss story, I'd be in, and then I'm sure Jen [Lawrence] would be in ... But it really all comes from theme and idea, and Suzanne."