Elle Fanning said Hunger Games fans are the reason she was cast as Effie Trinket in the upcoming prequel film. During a recent interview with MTV, the actress chatted about her casting in Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping and taking the role over from Elizabeth Banks, who portrayed an older version of Effie in the franchise’s first four films.

The film will feature an all-star cast including Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, Ralph Fiennes, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Maya Hawke, Jesse Plemons, Billy Porter, and Lili Taylor, alongside rising actors Joseph Zada, Whitney Peak, Mckenna Grace, and Ben Wang, among others.

The Sunrise on the Reaping cast might be the best movie cast of 2026 — and it definitely proves that the Hunger Games team knows exactly what to look for when casting a role. Joseph Zada as Haymitch?