Mckenna Grace reacts to her casting in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. The movie is based on Suzanne Collins’ second prequel book, following The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Rather than tell a sympathetic origin story of President Snow, Sunrise on the Reaping focuses on a much younger Haymitch Abernathy.

Stepping in to play this lead role is Joseph Zada. Grace will fill the role of Maysilee Donner. Other Sunrise on the Reaping cast members include Elle Fanning, Ralph Fiennes, Jesse Plemmons, Ben Wang, and Glenn Close. The movie is in production and set for release on November 20, 2026.

In an interview with ScreenRant, Grace reacts to her role in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. She revealed that she found out about her Hunger Games casting while on set for Regretting You, her 2025 movie. She had an emotional reaction, explaining that she does not usually get roles after being fan-cast.

Because the news was so new, she could not tell her Regretting You co-stars. However, they guessed it pretty immediately, saying “you just got the Hunger Games.” Check out the full quote from Grace below:

SR: Congratulations on Sunrise on the Reaping. You’ve been fan-cast in this film since people have been reading this book. What was the moment for you when you knew that the fans got their choice and they got you in the film? Also, this book is one of the bloodiest, most brutal books in the series. Is it staying true to that in the film?

Mckenna Grace: As always, like I said, even with Regretting You, you always want to do your best to bring everything to life for the fans, and do everything that they want to see.

It’s so funny I actually found out about this while I was on Regretting You, and we had a few people in the cast who were reading the book. I had the book with me, and I remember we were shooting this big dinner scene where it was all of us together.

I had just gotten the call in my trailer that morning that I had booked the role. I had been crying all morning, because I was like, “Oh, I did not think I was going to get it, especially with the fan castings, ’cause every time I get fan-casted for a role, I want so bad, I start getting fan-casted, and then I don’t get it.
[I was like,] “Damn it, you guys fan-cast me again. Why did you have to do that?”

I was so nervous, and I could not believe I got it. And everybody on set knew that I had gotten some good news about something, and I hadn’t told anybody I was going out for it, and I’d been going out for it for ages, and I was being so quiet and so secret.

I got on set, and it was this big family dinner scene, and they were like, “What was your news today, Mckenna? I was like, “I can’t say, but I just got a job.”

And [they were like,] “She just got Hunger Games.”

I was like, “How do–no, I didn’t. What are you talking about? You don’t know anything.”

Dave [Franco] was going off, and Sam [Morelos] was going off, and [I] was like, “Guys, you don’t know anything. I didn’t get Hunger Games. You don’t know what you’re talking about.

You’re going to make me lose the job that I don’t have.” I was so scared, and then the next day it came out that I got it.

What This Means For The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping

Grace’s commentary speaks to how pervasive fan casting becomes online. What starts with a simple Reddit or Instagram post can spiral out into fan-casting-based articles in more. Oftentimes, even the stars can catch wind of it, which is what happened in the case of Grace’s connection to The Hunger Games.

Luckily, in her case, this fan casting came to fruition. If it had not played out in her favor, the fan casting could have set her up for more disappointment. Grace outlines this in her quote, saying “every time I get fan-casted for a role, I want so bad, I start getting fan-casted, and then I don’t get it.”

This is a case of the studio agreeing with fans on who is the best fit for the role. Maysilee Donner plays a key role in Sunrise on the Reaping, as she is the only other District 12 tribute, alongside Haymitch Abernathy. With a series as beloved as The Hunger Games, it is especially important to get the casting right, and the studio may have done so in this case.

Our Take On Mckenna Grace In Sunrise On The Reaping

After-McKenna-Grace's-Comments-Last-Year,-I-Can't-Believe-The-Handmaid's-Tale-Season-6-Didn't-Include-Esther-v2

The fact that Grace was even fan cast so ubiquitously in Sunrise on the Reaping is a testament to her career growth. Now 19 years old, she got her start as a child actor in movies like Gifted and I, Tonya. As she’s transitioned into her teen years, she’s taken on bigger roles, including in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and The Handmaid‘s Tale.

This year’s Regretting You, which comes out on October 24, is another big step for Grace. Based on a hit Colleen Hoover novel, it has the potential to be a theatrical hit. The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is another massive step forward for the young actor, and could make her career explode even more than it already has.