Josh Hutcherson, actor of the “Hunger Games” franchise, addressed filmmaker Quentin Tarantino’s recent assertion that Suzanne Collins’s initial young adult book series “ripped off” the 1999 Japanese novel and its accompanying cinematic version, “Battle Royale”.
Throughout the first four “Hunger Games” movies, Hutcherson portrayed Peeta, a romantic interest and rival of Jennifer Lawrence’s lead, Katniss. A year before its 2026 release, the first teaser for “Sunrise of the Reaping”, a new prequel to “Hunger Games”, was released in November. Hutcherson stated that he hasn’t yet watched the trailer or read the book.
The actor said, “There are similar themes, for sure,” in response to Variety’s question regarding Tarantino’s critical viewpoint during the premiere of Hutcherson’s latest horror movie, “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2”. “But, you know, everyone borrows from everyone, you know.”
Tracing back to the controversy, in November, Tarantino, a long-time supporter of “Battle Royale”, listed his top 21st-century films on “The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast”. “Battle Royale” ranked 12th on the filmmaker’s list, and he went into detail about how the film was reminiscent of “The Hunger Games”.
“I do not understand how the Japanese writer didn’t sue Suzanne Collins for every fucking thing she owns,” Tarantino said. “They just ripped off the fucking book! Stupid book critics are not going to go watch a Japanese movie called ‘Battle Royale,’ so the stupid book critics never called her out on it. They talked about how it was the most original thing they’d ever fucking read. As soon as the film critics saw the film they said, ‘What the fuck! This is just “Battle Royale” except PG!’”
Hutcherson remarked, “I’m so excited to see the series continue and the amazing cast they’ve gotten for it.” Peeta appears in a cutaway at the end of the book “Sunrise of the Reaping”, although Hutcherson hasn’t stated that he was involved in the film adaptation.
