Woody Harrelson Wants a Haymitch ‘Hunger Games’ Sequel

Woody Harrelson had such a crush on Elizabeth Banks that he improvised a kiss during a scene in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.

The 54-year-old stars as Haymitch Abernathy in the movie franchise while Elizabeth portrays Effie Trinket. One scene from the final installment in the series saw Haymitch plant a smacker on Effie, but Harrelson admits the passionate embrace wasn’t exactly planned.

“I have a crush on Elizabeth Banks, I’m not going to lie,” Harrelson told Entertainment Tonight. “I think she’s a beautiful woman, I think she’s a marvelous actress, and I just love her as a person. She’s as fun as can be.”

Of the kiss,Harrelson added: “She didn’t know I was even going to do it, and I just kissed her. She’s such a pro.”

The Hunger Games movie and book series have both come to an end, as author Suzanne Collins only penned a trilogy of tales. However, Harrelson admits he remains hopeful she might write a spin-off centering on Effie and Haymitch’s romance.

“When we did it, it wasn’t like just a light thing where we thought it was nothing,” he said of the chemistry between the pair. “Hopefully, once we do the sequel to this that no one’s expecting – including the author – something will pick up for these two.”

It was recently revealed that studio bosses were considering expanding The Hunger Games franchise by including a string of prequels.

Lionsgate executive Michael Burns admitted he would love to keep the franchise alive by exploring the back story of Jennifer Lawrence’s character, Katniss Everdeen, and others to include the child fighting stadiums featured in Suzanne’s books.

Burns made the admission last December during the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York, where he compared The Hunger Games series to Harry Potter, claiming it will “live on and on and on”.

“The one thing that kids say they missed (from the early Hunger Games films) was there was no arenas,” he pointed out.