Moviegoers will soon be heading back into the arena with Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, which will introduce audiences to the backstory of the iconic Hunger Games mentor Haymitch Abernathy. Details on the film remain slim, but the call sheet is quickly filling up with our dream cast: Elle Fanning is set to star in the film as a young Effie Trinket, according to THR.
Fanning will take on the mantle of Effie, a woman from the totalitarian Capitol of Panem who serves as a chaperone for children selected to participate in the country’s brutal fight to the death: the Hunger Games. However, as in the novels of the same name by Suzanne Collins, she eventually becomes a key part of the resistance against the Games and works alongside freedom fighters to end the country’s violent ways. Effie was originally played by Elizabeth Banks in the four prior Hunger Games films that covered the original trilogy of books.
Fanning will portray a younger version of Effie, given that Sunrise on the Reaping takes place decades before the events of The Hunger Games. It will be based on the recently released book of the same name and follow eventual District 12 champion Haymitch (played by Woody Harrelson in the original films and Joseph Zada in the upcoming one) as he gets selected to participate in the Games. It will also star Whitney Peak, Ralph Fiennes, Mckenna Grace, Maya Hawke, Jesse Plemons, and more. Francis Lawrence, who directed all but one of the prior Hunger Games films, will helm the film from a screenplay by Billy Ray. The film will be produced by Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson for Color Force.
Elle Fanning Has a Stellar Career
With Fanning in tow, Sunrise on the Reaping has a major rising star on its hands. A child actress and the sister of Dakota Fanning, Fanning worked her way up the Hollywood ladder before breaking out in projects like Super 8 and Maleficent, cementing her as an up-and-coming star. But it was her turn in the Hulu series The Great, where she portrayed a parody version of Catherine the Great, that made her a household name and garnered her a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award.
Fanning most recently starred in the Oscar-nominated Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, for which she received critical acclaim for her performance alongside Timothée Chalamet. She will next be diving into the world of sci-fi, set to star in the upcoming film Predator: Badlands as a girl who teams up with an outcast Predator. She will also be seen in the drama film Sentimental Value alongside Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is in theaters on November 26, 2026, from Lionsgate.
Source: THR
