The upcoming prequel film The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is eyeing yet another star, with a new report that Elle Fanning could be joining the film.
Who is Elle Fanning being eyed to play in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping?
According to TheWrap‘s confirmation of Nexus Point News‘, Fanning is being eyed to play none other than Effie Trinket, a role made famous by Elizabeth Banks’ portrayal of the character in the original four The Hunger Games movies.
Fanning‘s Trinket would obviously be a younger version of the character, during her time as an escort for District 12, 24 years prior to the events of the first film. She also starred in the Hulu series The Great, and is next set to star in the upcoming Predator movie Predator: Badlands.
Fanning recently starred opposite Timothée Chalamet in 2024’s Oscar-nominated film A Complete Unknown.
Sunrise on the Reaping is set 24 years before the events of the original series. It tells the story of how Haymitch Abernathy, played by Woody Harrelson in the movies, won the 50th Hunger Games, becoming the only District 12 victor until Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark came along.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will be released in United States theaters on November 20, 2026, from Lionsgate.
The Hunger Games prequel movie is being directed by Francis Lawrence, who has also helmed a number of the franchise’s previous entries. Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson are producing the film, while Cameron MacConomy serves as executive producer.
Billy Ray is writing the script for Sunrise on the Reaping. Ray worked on the screenplay for the first Hunger Games movie, which was released in 2012, and earned an Oscar nomination for penning 2013’s Captain Phillips.
He’s also worked on the scripts for movies such as 1997’s Volcano, 2003’s Shattered Glass (which he also directed), 2004’s Suspect Zero, 2009’s State of Play, 2018’s Overlord, 2019’s Gemini Man, 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate, 2019’s Richard Jewell, and more.
