The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping casting is officially underway, and it's only getting me more excited for one of the biggest upcoming book-to-screen adaptations. After it was announced on Wednesday who would play Haymitch and Lenore Dove Baird, we now have word about who will be playing another District 12 tribute, Maysilee Donner. And let me tell you, she's perfect.
McKenna Grace, who most famously has played Phoebe Spengler in the recent Ghostbusters movies, has officially been cast in the role that has deep connections to the first heroine of the Hunger Games we fell in love with, Katniss. She's the first tribute to wear the Mockingjay pin!
The 18-year-old has joined Joseph Zada, who will play Haymitch Abernathy, and Whitney Peak, our Lenore Dove Baird, as the third cast member to be announced in Sunrise on the Reaping ahead of its 2026 release date. She'll play a fellow District 12 tribute during the second Quarter Quell, where four tributes are chosen from each district instead of two.
Along with Haymitch, Wyatt Callow, Louella McCoy and Maysilee Donner are chosen to compete in the games from the district Katniss famously represents in the 74th and 75th Hunger Games. She has a twin sister named Merrilee and is best friends with Katniss's mom, Asterid Everdeen. She's the original owner of Katniss's mockingjay pin years before it became a symbol of the rebellion.
Maysilee is one of the more affluent kids from District 12, so it's kind of a surprise that she's chosen for the games, given that luck was likely on her side. After reading the book, I can totally see Grace towing the line between playing to Maysilee's complexities that make her a flawed and, as described in the book, "the most stuck-up girl in town," but ultimately a quite likable character.
McKenna Grace was absolutely a highlight of the Ghostbusters movies as of late, because she's able to convey so much emotion. Maysilee is a different character for her than Phoebe, but I can totally see Grace embodying her well.
With casting news now coming out two days in a row, I have a feeling Sunrise on the Reaping is close to starting production. The movie will be directed by Francis Lawrence, who previously helmed all the other Hunger Games films, except for the first one. Earlier this month, Lawrence said the new book is his "favorite book of the series" and the movie would be a "return to form" to the original trilogy due to it being closer to Katniss's games in the timeline.
Along with Grace's upcoming role in Sunrise on the Reaping, the actress is booked and busy with all sorts of other big roles. She's been cast in the next Colleen Hoover adaptation, Regretting You, along with being part of the Scream 7 cast and the second Five Nights At Freddy's movie.
McKenna Grace's casting only has me more excited for the next Hunger Games movie, which hits theaters on November 20, 2026.
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