Elle Fanning has officially been cast as a young Effie Trinket in the upcoming Hunger Games prequel film, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. This marks the first time the character will appear in the franchise’s timeline before the original trilogy. Fanning takes over the role from Elizabeth Banks, who portrayed Effie in the earlier films.
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Set 24 years before Katniss Everdeen’s story, the film focuses on the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell. It follows a 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy, played by Joseph Zada, as he navigates the deadly arena. Effie, in her early days as a Capitol escort, is assigned to mentor Haymitch during these games.
The ensemble cast includes Ralph Fiennes as President Snow, Maya Hawke as Wiress, Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee, McKenna Grace as Maysilee Donner, Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove Baird, Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Beetee, Lili Taylor as Mags, Ben Wang as Wyatt Callow, Molly McCann as Louella McCoy, and Iona Bell as Lou Lou.
Sixth Installment of the Franchise
The film adapts Suzanne Collins’ 2025 novel of the same name, which explores the political and societal complexities of Panem leading up to the original series.
The Hunger Games franchise has released five films, amassing more than $3.3 billion at the global box office. The upcoming sixth installment will be directed by Francis Lawrence. He has led every movie since the series began in 2012. The screenplay is adapted by Billy Ray. Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson of Color Force are the pr0ducers, with Cameron MacConomy serving as executive producer.
Elle Fanning recently starred in the Oscar-nominated Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. She also appears in Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, releasing this week. Her upcoming projects include Margo’s Got Money Troubles, an Apple TV+ series from David E. Kelley, and Predator: Badlands, set to premiere in theaters on November 7th.
