The Great star Elle Fanning has the odds in her favor. The 27-year-old actress just joined the cast of “The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping” as Effie Trinket. She will play a younger version of the Games’ immaculately-attired stylist role originated by Elizabeth Banks. In Reaping, Effie is designated to be District 12 Tribute Haymitch Abernathy‘s stylist for the 50th Hunger Games a.k.a. the Second Quarter Quell. Newcomer Joseph Zada has been cast in the Haymitch role, previously played by Woody Harrelson.
Fanning is joining a large ensemble that count Zada, Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove Baird, Mckenna Grace as Maysilee Donner, Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee, Maya Hawke as Wiress, Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Beetee, Lili Taylor as Mags, Ben Wang as Wyatt, Ralph Fiennes as President Snow, and Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman.
Reaping takes place 24 years before the event of the first The Hunger Games that Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) took part in. It is an origin story of Haymitch, Katniss’ alcoholic mentor and what happened to him at the Games that he ended up winning. Francis Lawrence, who has helmed every installments in the franchise sans the first one, returns to direct.
The film begins filming in the summer and will hit theaters November 20, 2026.