Every Way Peeta Mellark Is Different in the Hunger Games Movie Than in the Books (2024)

Movie adaptions always make cuts and alterations to their source material. In the case of The Hunger Games, Peeta Mellark received some of the most significant changes during the adaptation process, transforming him from one of the novels' most complicated characters to a fairly one-dimensional part of the film.

Josh Hutcherson's Peeta Mellark is charismatic and strong, and he is genuinely kind and in love with Katniss. In many ways, Peeta transforms Katniss from a girl who's angry at the game and politics, to someone with her own thinking and personality. In the rebellion that gradually unravels through the 74-75th Hunger Games, Katniss wouldn't have become the Mockingjay symbol without Peeta. The Hunger Games comes down to the two of them and their relationship — how two people, who, despite their odds, choose to save each other instead of killing. Here's every way Peeta Mellark is different in the book than in the movie.

Peeta & Katniss's Relationship Is More Complicated in the Book

The Hunger Games movie trilogy takes a more ambiguous angle to Peeta and Katniss's unraveling relationship, making viewers question whether Peeta was putting on a show or had real feelings toward Katniss. In the books, it wasn't hard to see that Peeta genuinely cared about Katniss from the beginning. He made sure his father would give Katniss's family bread and wouldn't let them starve when she was gone. He also didn't try to hide his skill from Katniss, but rather talked her up and helped her win in every way possible. Every move Peeta took before and in the game had the best intention for Katniss deserved, because he truly believed that Katniss could win.

Similarly, Katniss had feelings for Peeta from the start as well, though more in the ways of conflict. Her feelings complicated everything they went through as tributes. Katniss would take things personally and second guess Peeta's intention. She was very confused by her feelings because she felt a lot about Peeta, and she felt particularly troubled that they had to kill each other in the game. She felt close to him and found him someone she could count on. However, because she cared about him so much, she took everything Peeta did the wrong way.

Peeta and Katniss's relationship traces back to one crucial scene when Peeta threw burned throws at Katniss. The scene was significantly different in the book from the movie. In the movie, it's hard to see if Peeta was showing kindness to Katniss when he threw the burned bread to her in the rain and made it seem as though Peeta treated her like an animal. The book, written from Katniss' first-person perspective, gives a more nuanced look into what happened — Katniss was starving, barely hanging onto her last breath.

Peeta was the only person who ever showed her kindness. She noticed that Peeta might have intentionally burned the bread so that he could give it to her. Peeta also got hit in the face for giving her the bread. She pulled away from Peeta wasn't because she disliked him as a person, but because they were supposed to kill each other in the game, and she feared she cared too much for him to do it. After the game, Peeta was ready to date Katniss, but she told him that she was confused, which was a heartbreaking moment for Peeta. The movie, on the other hand, made it seem like they were both acting.

Peeta Has More Skills and Personality in the Book

Many viewers find Peeta almost useless in the Hunger Games. His character also seemed flat in comparison to Katniss. The movie made Katniss the main star, but the book revolved around their relationship. Apart from Peeta's exceptional skills at drawing camouflage, he wasn't a good fighter, nor was he a fast runner. Katniss had to keep saving him. The movie made it seem like if it wasn't for Katniss, Peeta wouldn't have survived the Hunger Game. However, it's not the case in the book. Book Peeta actually saved Katniss several times, utilizing a variety of his skills. Unlike Katniss, who was good with a bow, Peeta had interpersonal skills. He was good at playing the audience and reading people from observation. Peeta's moves in the Hunger Games were also calculated. He was charismatic, clever, and strategic. He had both physical strength and a high IQ.

Peeta was also the one with the activist's thinking. Katniss was angry at the Game and the Capitol, but she didn't know how to voice her anger, except to aim her bow at the Gamemakers. Peeta, in a way, inspired Katniss to be more than an angry person, being swept by the cruelty of the Hunger Game. Before the game, he told Katniss that he wanted to remain his humanity and die as his own person. He wanted to find a way to show the audience that the game didn't own them. Katniss wouldn't have been so "rebellious" and "courageous" if it wasn't for Peeta's thinking.

Peeta Lost His Leg in the Hunger Games

Peeta won the Hunger Game in the movie without long-term physical damage. However, in the book, he lost his leg when the cut from Cato got infected. Katniss tried her best to save the leg. She tied a tourniquet with the last arrow she had, but because it took too long for Cato to die, she removed the arrow and shot him in the head, then tied it back to help Peeta's leg. Because of the blood poisoning and the injury, the two have gone through many difficult situations in the game, which bonded them as a couple.

After Katniss forced the Gamemakers to accept them both as victors, Peeta was taken by the Capitol doctors, who amputated him and gave him a prosthetic leg as a replacement. Katniss had no idea that Peeta had lost his leg until Caeser's interview with them. Katniss blamed herself for tying the tourniquet, but Peeta humorously reminded her that she was the one who had saved his life. The leg then affected Peeta greatly in Catching Fire, where he had to fight in the Hunger Game as a disabled person. In the beginning of the second installment, Peeta and Katniss fell into the snow in front of the camera because of his prosthetic leg. The leg also made him run significantly slower from the poisonous fog and made their time in the Quarter Quell a lot more challenging, but at the same time, it showed Peeta's resilience and strength.

Peeta Is Much More Romantic in the Book

Peeta didn't have many romantic moves in the movie, except in Catching Fire where he gave the pearls to Katniss. However, there are many fan-favorite Peeta moments in the book that make fans fall for him.

In the first movie, when they were in the cave, Katniss wanted to go to the feast so that she could keep Peeta. However, he didn't want her to go, knowing how dangerous it was. Haymitch sent Katniss sleep syrup to give it to Peeta. Katniss rubbed the syrup on some berries and gave it to Peeta. When he realized what was happening, Peeta tried to make himself vomit just so he could stop Katniss from the suicide mission. After winning the game, Peeta kept baking bread for Katniss's family even though he was upset with her and the fact they didn't need any bread because of how rich they had become.

In Catching Fire, Peeta carried a necklace with Gale's face on it for Katniss because he thought she loved him. Peeta was willing to die to keep Katniss alive. When showing off their skills to the Gamemakers, Peeta also painted Rue's face to remind them of the cruelty of the game (the movie never shows that it was Peeta who had done the painting). In the movie, the scene made it seem as if the painting was done by the Gamemakers with the intention of weakening Katniss.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games franchise shows a dystopian future where teens are forced to battle to the death for the amusem*nt of the wealthy. Everything changes when Katniss Everdeen volunteers in place of her sister, Primrose.

Created by

Suzanne Collins

First Film

The Hunger Games

Latest Film

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Cast

Jennifer Lawrence , Josh Hutcherson , Liam Hemsworth , Woody Harrelson , Elizabeth Banks , Amandla Stenberg , Rachel Zegler , Tom Blyth , Viola Davis

Where to Stream

Peaco*ck , Fubo TV , Philo