Confirming what’s been rumored for weeks, Elle Fanning is now set for the role of Effie Trinket, stylist for Haymitch Abernathy in the lead-up to the 50th Hunger Games, in Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, an adaptation of the bestseller by Suzanne Collins.
Fanning’s role was played by Elizabeth Banks in earlier installments. Joseph Zada plays Abernathy in Sunrise, with Whitney Peak as his girlfriend, Lenore Dove Baird. Others in the cast include Mckenna Grace as Maysilee Donner, Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee, Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Beetee, Maya Hawke as Wiress, Lili Taylor as Mags, Ben Wang as Wyatt Callow, and Ralph Fiennes as President Snow.
Published March 18, the latest installment in Collins’ dystopian YA book series revisits the world of Panem 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games, starting on the morning of the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell. The story centers on 16-year-old Haymitch, a clever and resourceful boy from District 12, who’s unexpectedly chosen for this edition of the games, which will feature a deadly twist: twice the number of tributes, with 48 children sent into the arena to battle for their lives.
Francis Lawrence has returned to direct from a script by Billy Ray, with Color Force’s Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson producing, and Cameron MacConomy exec producing. Meredith Wieck and Scott O’Brien are overseeing the project for the studio and Robert Melnik negotiated deals for Lionsgate. Slated for release on November 20, 2026, Sunrise comes on the heels of five Hunger Games films that have grossed more than $3.3 billion worldwide.
Most recently starring opposite Timothée Chalamet in Searchlight’s Oscar-nominated Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, Fanning is currently at Cannes in support of Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, which premieres this week. Upcoming, she’ll also be seen starring in Margo’s Got Money Troubles for David E. Kelley and Apple TV+, as well as 20th’s Predator: Badlands, which hits theaters this fall. She is represented by UTA, TFC Management, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller.
Get our Breaking News Alerts and Keep your inbox happy.
