Katniss Everdeen endured a lot in a short amount of time during the Hunger Games franchise. The series launched in 2012 and was based on the YA books by author Suzanne Collins. There were three novels in the series, which in turn became the focus of four movie adaptations. The series has since expanded with the release of a prequel novel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Lionsgate also adapted the prequel story, set more than 60 years before Katniss’ story, into a feature film.
The Hunger Games series focused on a dystopian world known as Panem. Located throughout the remnants of North America, Hunger Games’ Panem consisted of a federal district known as the Capitol and 13 outlying districts. Following a civil war and the ensuing “Dark Days,” the Capitol created a Treaty of Treason. From then on, years were referenced as “ATT” or “After the Treaty of Treason.” In 1 ATT, the Capitol held the first-ever Hunger Games event. Over 70 years later, Katniss brought the end of the Hunger Games altogether. When Jennifer Lawrence was cast as Katniss Everdeen , the actress was 20 years old. This was older than the teenage character that she portrayed, but there was a sense of maturity needed for the role.
The Hunger Games (2012)
When the events of the first film, The Hunger Games began, Katniss was just a 16-year-old teenager. Katniss lived in District 12 with her mother and sister where she took on the responsibility of providing for her family by hunting for them. She was said to have been born on May 8, 58 ATT. That year, the Capitol was set to hold the 74th Hunger Games in Panem’s history. Seeing as tributes from each district ranged from age 12 to 18, Katniss was one of the older participants. At first, her 12-year-old sister, Prim, was chosen, but Katniss bravely volunteered in her place.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire picked up a roughly a year after the events of the first movie when Katniss and Peeta returned to District 12 as Hunger Games victors. Panem was preparing for yet another Hunger Games event, but since it was the 75th anniversary of the first event, Panem was hosting another Quarter Quell. Every 25 years, the new tributes for the game would be picked from the pool of surviving tributes. Katniss was the only female tribute still alive for District 12, so she competed by default. When Katniss competed in her second Hunger Games in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, she was 17 years old.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 started up just moments after the events of Catching Fire. Katniss was rescued out of the arena and taken to District 13, an area previously thought to be destroyed. The teenager then became the Mockingjay, a symbol of the new rebellion against President Snow and the Capitol. The tumultuous battles that ensued also occurred during 75 ATT, meaning Katniss was still 17 years old at the time.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015)
The rebellion worked and the citizens of the surviving districts took over the Capitol. President Coin decided to host one last Hunger Games with the children of Capitol children. This news troubled Katniss, so rather than kill Snow during his execution, Katniss assassinated Coin to end the tyrannical madness. Katniss was then arrested and spent time in a mental facility. By the time she was allowed to return to District 12 at the end of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, Katniss was 18 years old.
How Old Is Katniss When She Dies?
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Though The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 flashes forward to give the audience a look at Katniss and Peeta in the future, it doesn’t go far enough forward for Katniss’ death. Even in the epilogue of the Mockingjay novel, Suzanne Collins doesn’t specify when Katniss dies, indicating she likely lives a long life while the world rebuilds following the Second Rebellion. Thus, the audience doesn’t know how old Katniss is when she dies.
The only information the audience has about Katniss’ future is that she and Peeta have a child together 15 years after their experiences in the Rebellion (at 33 years old) and that five years later, they have a second child. The audience can rest assured that Katniss Everdeen gets what passes for a happy ending at the end of the Hunger Games.
