21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Hunger Games prequel breaks the internet as star-studded cast is confirmed
Hunger Games prequel Sunrise on the Reaping has set the internet alight as the casting for the highly anticipated movie has finally been confirmed and includes a star-studded cast
The Hungers Games series broke the internet yet again as it revealed the star-studded cast for the upcoming sequel, Sunrise on the Reaping.
Since the book went viral on BookTok, with over 32 million posts made about the heart-breaking backstory, fans have shared their own fan castings and much to their delight, casting director Debra Zane seems to have listened.
A Complete Unknown actress Elle Fanning was announced as Effie Trinket, in the highly-anticipated cast reveal on social media. Elizabeth Banks aced the character of Effie Trinket - known for the iconic phrase "may the odds be ever in your favour" - and after reading the books, fans were certain Fanning would be the best actress to play a young Effie in the upcoming film.
According to Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-president Erin Westerman, Fanning was an "undeniable fan favourite from the start", telling Variety that she'd be the best choice to "honour [Elizabeth Banks'] legacy while bringing us back to Effie's early, most formative days".
He added: 'Elle Fanning's career has been transcendent. She has a rare presence — warm, sparkling and layered with extraordinary depth. She was the undeniable fan favourite from the start, and we're honoured she answered the call. The odds, it turns out, were in our favour.'
Fanning joins another fan favourite - Ralph Fiennes - who was cast as cunning President Coriolanus Snow and Stranger Things star, Maya Hawke, who will take on the role as Haymitch's mentor for the Games - Wiress.
Fanning, Fiennes and Hawke join Joseph Zada as lead character Haymitch Abernathy, who's portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the first set of films. Amazon Prime's Gen V star Whitney Peak will act as Haymitch's love interest Lenore Dove Baird.
I, Tonya and The Handmaid's Tale star Mckenna Grace will portray the fearless Maysilee Donner, while Jesse Plemons will appear as Plutarch Heavensbee, Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Beetee, Lili Taylor as Mags, Ben Wang as Wyatt and MollyMcCann will also appear as Louella, while Iona Bell will portray her Capitol-assigned lookalike Lou Lou.
The film adaptation is set to be released on November 20, 2026 and will be directed by Francis Lawrence, who helmed every instalment of series since The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. So far, the five films in the franchise - The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1 and 2 and The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbird and Snakes - have hit over $3.3 billion at the box office, so the next prequel film has a huge act to follow.
Despite the movie's release date being well over a year away, the hype surrounding the prequel set the internet alight, with thanks to Lionsgate's bomb-drop cast announcements on social media. Suzanne Collins' book reached its own success, with 1.5 million copies being sold in its first week on sale in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The novel revisits the world of Panem 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games and centres around Haymitch Abernathy, offering a tragic insight to his life and his Games, known as the Second Quarter Quell.
