Are The Hunger Games Stars Jennifer Lawrence & Rachel Zegler Friends In Real Life?

Jennifer Lawrence and Rachel Zegler have been getting friendly as of late, thanks to the fact that they've both appeared in the "Hunger Games" franchise.

Speaking with People Magazine at the London premiere of the franchise prequel "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," Zegler — who leads the film as District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird — said that she's been building a connection with the Oscar winner thanks to a lot of friends they have in common. "I had already filmed it when I had met her and we really just were able to bond over the fact that we know so many of the same people," Zegler revealed.

Those mutual friends include Francis Lawrence, who directed all but one of the original "Hunger Games" films as well as "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," as well as Lawrence's co-star in her 2023 romantic comedy "No Hard Feelings." "One of my good friends is Andrew Barth Feldman, who she just did 'No Hard Feelings' with and, obviously, Francis Lawrence is obsessed with her," Zegler said. "Everyone who worked on our movies came over from the original trilogy to work on ours."

Rachel Zegler also revealed to talk show host and singer Kelly Clarkson that her first meeting with Jennifer Lawrence was ... actually a little bit wild. Referencing a viral video of the two actresses meeting at a Christian Dior show at Paris Fashion Week, Zegler said on "The Kelly Clarkson Show" that she was the only cast member who had met the previous "Hunger Games" star, and that Lawrence was characteristically cheeky about the entire interaction.

"I didn't want to be weird. I was just kind of psyching myself up to talk to her. She was so unbelievably kind," Zegler said, before continuing on to explain the footage shown on the show, where Zegler is clearly laughing. "In that clip, [Jennifer is] actually saying, 'Let's do another photo where I'm strangling you and saying you'll never take my part!' And that's exactly what I wanted from her," Zegler told Clarkson and her castmates Tom Blyth, Hunter Schafer, and Josh Andrés Rivera.

This is a funny comment on several levels, but perhaps the best is that Zegler and Lawrence's characters have little in common, so Lawrence was never really in danger of having her role "stolen" by the younger starlet.

Jennifer Lawrence was quite clearly joking about Rachel Zegler "stealing" her Hunger Games role, but let's be exceedingly clear here. Lawrence and Zegler's characters — Katniss Everdeen and Lucy Gray Baird, respectively — couldn't possibly be more different.

Sure, the two have a few things in common. They're both from the impoverished District 12, both can sing (though Lucy Gray is a stronger singer than Katniss), both know how to navigate the wilderness with ease, and both royally piss off President Snow (Tom Blyth and Donald Sutherland) at various points in time. They're also the only female winners in the history of District 12, but when the 75th annual Hunger Games decree that only previous victors will compete, that doesn't matter for Katniss; she's the only known female victor, as Lucy Gray has long since vanished.

Throughout her time in the Games, there's no doubt that Katniss is a capable fighter, but she struggles to connect with audiences and appear personable in the process. On the other hand, Lucy Gray can't fight to save her life (literally), but she's a born performer, giving her an edge over other competitors as she makes the Capitol fall in love with her. As Lawrence knows, Zegler's role in the prequel carries on her "Hunger Games" legacy — in a completely different way.

"The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" is in theaters now.