The Hunger Games’ Josh Hutcherson weighed in on Quentin Tarantino’s recent claims about the massive franchise ripping off the iconic movie, Battle Royale.
Tarantino recently accused the series’ author, Suzanne Collins, of stealing the ideas of the popular Japanese film and novel. However, Hutcherson disagreed with that sentiment. In an exclusive conversation with Variety at the premiere of his new horror film, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, the actor acknowledged the similarities but offered a more diplomatic take on the matter.
The Hunger Games star brushed off Tarantino’s harsh comments and said that in our current day and age, one hundred percent original ideas are hard to come by. And, as a result, there’s bound to be storylines and characters that mirror each other. Being inspired by another property doesn’t automatically make something a rip-off. “There are similar themes, for sure. But, you know, everyone borrows from everyone,” he explained.
The Pulp Fiction director, who is a longtime fan of Battle Royale, slammed The Hunger Games franchise in November on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast while sharing his favorite films of the 21st century. Ranking the film 12th, he proceeded to go off on a heated rant about how the two properties are too similar and how he was surprised that Collins didn’t get sued. He even called book critics “stupid” for not watching Battle Royale and calling her out for plagiarizing another writer’s material.
I do not understand how the Japanese writer didn’t sue Suzanne Collins for every f****** thing she owns. They just ripped off the f****** 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 f****** read. As soon as the film critics saw the film, they said, ‘What the f***! This is just “Battle Royale” except PG!
Despite Tarantino condemning the franchise, it is still alive and well with a prequel titled The Hunger Games: Sunrise of the Reaping on its way to the big screen. The project released its first teaser in November and will be released in 2026. When asked about the preview, Hutcherson admitted that he hasn’t seen it yet and hasn’t read the novel that inspired it.
Although he hasn’t watched the trailer, the actor did say that he was very excited about the film and the franchise’s future as a whole. The actor stated, “I’m so excited to see the series continue and the amazing cast they’ve gotten for it.”
Hutcherson portrayed Peeta, the love interest of Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss, in the first four Hunger Games film adaptations. While his character does appear in the Sunrise of the Reaping book, he has not confirmed or denied potentially appearing in the upcoming movie.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise of the Reaping will premiere in theaters on November 20, 2026.
- Created by
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Suzanne Collins
- Cast
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Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Lenny Kravitz, Willow Shields, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth, Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman
- Movie(s)
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The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
