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Casting news for "The Hunger Games" series' second prequel, "The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping," continues to roll in, with Elle Fanning and Emma Thompson as the latest actors to be named. Fanning has reportedly been offered the role of a young Effie Trinket, the tribute escort played by Elizabeth Banks in the original quadrilogy. Thompson is said to be in talks to play Drusilla Sickle, a Capitol guard stationed long-term in District 12.
(Image: GQ)
This follows earlier casting rumors for the film, which include rising star Charlie Plummer as the protagonist Haymitch Abernathy, Ralph Fiennes as a middle-aged President Snow, Jesse Plemons as a young Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee, and Kieran Culkin as a young games commentator Caesar Flickerman.
(Image: Los Angeles Times)
"Sunrise on the Reaping" will once again be directed by Francis Lawrence, who helmed the last three films of the original series and the first prequel, "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes." Billy Ray, who wrote the screenplay for the first "The Hunger Games" film, is set to return as writer.
The film is an adaptation of the new novel of the same name by "The Hunger Games" author Suzanne Collins, which was published last month. The story is set 24 years before the first film and follows a 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy as he competes in and ultimately wins the 50th Hunger Games. The movie is scheduled for a North American release on November 20, 2026, with filming expected to begin this July in Germany.