Kieran Culkin and Elle Fanning are officially joining the Sunrise on the Reaping cast.
Lionsgate confirmed that the Oscar winner has been cast as the flamboyant and eccentric host Caesar Flickerman, a role originally played by Stanley Tucci in the four Hunger Games films.
“Kieran’s scene-stealing presence and undeniable charm are perfect for Caesar Flickerman, the sickeningly watchable host of Panem’s darkest spectacle. Stanley Tucci made Caesar unforgettable and now Kieran will make the role entirely his own,” Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-president Erin Westerman said.
Caesar Flickerman.
— The Hunger Games (@TheHungerGames) May 21, 2025
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping – in theaters November 20, 2026. pic.twitter.com/hggGysk4Nd
Effie Trinket.
— The Hunger Games (@TheHungerGames) May 20, 2025
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping – in theaters November 20, 2026. pic.twitter.com/zm4LIkN8eb
Elle Fanning is stepping in to play the younger version of Effie Trinket, a Capitol resident who serves as the stylist for the novel’s protagonist Haymitch Abernathy.
Elizabeth Banks portrayed the older version of the character in the Hunger Games series, by which time Trinket has become the escort and advisor to District 12 tributes Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen and Josh Hutcherson’s Peeta Mellark.
“From the moment Suzanne released the book, one question echoed from fans around the world: who will play Effie?” said Westerman.
“Elizabeth Banks made her iconic – so who could honour that legacy while bringing us back to Effie’s early, most formative days?
“For us, there was only one answer. Elle Fanning’s career has been transcendent. She has a rare presence – warm, sparkling and layered with extraordinary depth.
“She was the undeniable fan favourite from the start, and we’re honored she answered the call. The odds, it turns out, were in our favour.”
Banks said she is “super excited” to see Fanning in the role. “I texted the producers as well and I think she's perfect,” she told People. “I’m excited for the next generation to have their Effie.”
The story of Sunrise takes place 24 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteers as a tribute for her sister and 40 years after the events of The Ballads of Songbirds & Snakes, the prequel which traces the evolution of antagonist Coriolanus Snow.
Rounding out the cast list are Jesse Plemons as head gamemaker and secret rebel-insider Plutarch Heavensbee and Ralph Fiennes as President Coriolanus Snow.
I can’t believe we’re 4/4 on rumored Sunrise on the Reaping castings 😭😭😭
— kat (@districtshields) May 22, 2025
-Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket
-Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee
-Ralph Fiennes as President Snow
-Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman pic.twitter.com/4SqsfinPav
Fans are understandably excited as the names so many of them had put out did end up making the final list.
“We’re witnessing greatness the likes of which have never been seen in Hollywood. This casting director is operating at a level that warrants a Nobel prize. I will be so seated for this film I will see it minimum three times. Immediately film of the year,” said one fan on X.
“Is this what Capitol citizens feel like when their tribute wins because oh my god,” said another.
“Not sure what’s more impressive,” another fan said, “the fans envisioning the perfect cast, or the casting director actually making it happen.”
the most perfect casting in existence nothing will ever top it https://t.co/SeRkHlztrQ pic.twitter.com/12Pyre5LRu
— iva ⸆⸉🤍 (@smokessignals) May 20, 2025
the concept of an elle fanning effie trinket and kieran culkin caesar flickerman interaction pic.twitter.com/lwaOWLkvmM
— all-american britt ★ (@wastelndbby) May 22, 2025
academy award winner kieran culkin playing caesar flickerman pic.twitter.com/V22CrBR446
— ezra (@lesbians4snoopy) May 22, 2025
me letting my friends know elle fanning was cast as effie trinket pic.twitter.com/5EdcgAVxzh
— itzel (@lrrainewarren) May 20, 2025
Previously, it was announced that Joseph Zada and Whitney Peak would star as Haymitch Abernathy and Lenore Dove Baird and Mckenna Grace as Maysilee Donner.
Other members of the cast include Kelvin Harrison Jr as Beetee, Maya Hawke as Wiress, Lili Taylor as Mags, Ben Wang as Wyatt Callow, Molly McCann as Louella McCoy, and Iona Bell as Louella’s body double Lou Lou.
The Hunger Games franchise, based on a series of bestselling dystopian novels by Suzanne Collins, focused on 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who ends up in the 74th Hunger Games – a punishment designed to keep districts surrounding the cruel and exploitative Capitol from rebelling again, by forcing them to send a boy and girl selected by a lottery to participate in a reality television show-type contest that makes them fight to the death until one remains.
Sunrise on the Reaping will focus on Katniss’s mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, as he is chosen as one of the four tributes from District 12 to compete in the 50th Annual Hunger Games, also called the Second Quarter Quell.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is slated to be released on 20 November 2026.
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