McKenna Grace Tapped for Major Role in New Hunger Games Movie

Ghostbusters star Mckenna Grace has reportedly scored the most coveted role in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. She will play Maysilee Donner, the other Tribute from District 12 alongside the movie’s protagonist, Haymitch Abernathy. The news broke on Thursday in a report by Deadline, and overall, fans seem to be pleased with this casting choice. Suzanne Collins’ novel Sunrise on the Reaping has hardly been out for more than a month, but the fandom turned out in droves for this story, especially knowing that a film adaptation was already in the works. It hasn’t taken long for fans to develop and attachment to Maysilee, and they’re prepared to trust Grace with bringing her to life.

Sunrise on the Reaping is the latest novel set in Panem. It’s another prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy, but it’s a distant sequel to The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. While that story took place 64 years before Katniss Everdeen’s games, this one takes place 40 years later — so, 24 years before Katniss volunteered. By now, Coriolanus Snow has become president and solidified his power, and we should expect life in Panem to look very different.

Grace is a familiar face in Hollywood despite being just 18 years old. She began her child star career at the age of five, and hit the mainstream on the Disney XD sitcom Crash & Bernstein. She has worked continuously since then, and is best known for playing Phoebe in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Frozen Empire, as well as young Tonya Harding in I, Tonya. She also played a young Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel, and she had a six-episode arc as Esther Keyes on The Handmaid’s Tale.

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Grace may be the most recognizable to horror fans, as she has found a lot of success in the genre. She appeared in The Haunting of Hill House, Annabelle Comes Home, and Malignant, among other titles. That could be good news for The Hunger Games, where gore and jump-scares are both important.

Sunrise on the Reaping centers around Haymitch, who will be played here by Joseph Zada. Whitney Peak has also been cast as Haymitch’s girlfriend, Lenore Dove Baird, further connecting this story to the other prequel. Haymitch goes on to become Katniss’ mentor when she competes in the Hunger Games herself, while several other characters are returning including Wiress, Beetee, Plutarch Heavensbee, Effie Trinket, and President Snow.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is scheduled to hit theaters on November 20, 2026. Collins’ novel is available now in print, digital, and audiobook formats.