{"id":660039,"date":"2026-10-28T23:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T23:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/660039\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T23:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T23:02:09","slug":"elle-fanning-mckenna-grace-kieran-culkin-on-joining-hunger-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/660039\/","title":{"rendered":"Elle Fanning, Mckenna Grace, Kieran Culkin on Joining ‘Hunger Games’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIt was an event fit for the Capitol at London\u2019s Westfield shopping centre on Wednesday night as the cast of The Hunger Games<\/a>: Sunrise on the Reaping descended on the British capital for the film\u2019s U.K. launch.<\/p>\n

\n\tA cornucopia towered over fans, journalists and a purple carpet, while large tapestries with Ralph Fiennes as President Snow were lofted above that read: \u201cPanem\u2019s No. 1 Peacekeeper.\u201d The sixth movie in the beloved franchise, based on Suzanne Collins\u2019 book of the same name and directed by long-time Hunger Games helmer Francis Lawrence, follows the second Quarter Quell in which Woody Harrelson\u2019s character Haymitch (played by Joseph Zada in the prequel) is sent into the arena with twice as many children.<\/p>\n

\n\tZada, Fiennes and their fellow cast members, including Elle Fanning (Effie Trinket), Kieran Culkin (Caesar Flickerman), Mckenna Grace (Maysilee Donner), Jesse Plemons (Plutarch Heavensbee) and Whitney Peak (Lenore Dove), dutifully spoke to press while fans screamed for their attention. The Hollywood Reporter even captured Fiennes and Fanning meeting for the first time, in a sweet moment where the actress gushed over the Brit and lamented the fact that they didn\u2019t share any scenes. Unfortunately, Katniss Everdeen herself, Jennifer Lawrence \u2014\u00a0who has confirmed on Call Her Daddy<\/a> that she reunited with two co-stars on this film \u2014\u00a0did not make a surprise appearance.<\/p>\n

\n\tCulkin admitted that he eventually figured out what to do with Hunger Games host Flickerman \u2014\u00a0depicted by Stanley Tucci in the original films \u2014\u00a0after jokingly telling a fan, \u201clower those expectations,\u201d when he\u2019d just signed on.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Succession alum told THR: \u201cOh yeah, that was when I was on Broadway. You know, you come out, people are doing what you\u2019re doing and fucking taking videos while I\u2019m trying to have an interaction with somebody,\u201d he began. \u201cPeople were like, \u2018Oh, I hear you\u2019re doing Hunger Games,\u2019 and I was like, \u2018Lower those fucking expectations,\u2019 because at that point, I had no clue what I was going to do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt was already too much pressure,\u201d the always-candid Culkin continued. \u201cTo me, this was like a no-brainer \u2014 don\u2019t do it, because everyone loves what Stanley Tucci did with the role. So I was like, \u2018They\u2019re gonna hate [me].\u2019 I feel like I\u2019m being set up for failure. [They\u2019ll say], \u2018That\u2019s not Caesar!\u2019 No matter what I do. But I found a different take on it, something that I think connects to his.\u201d Culkin added that he hasn\u2019t spoken to Tucci about the role, but believes any empathy Tucci\u2019s Flickerman showed in his films wasn\u2019t real. \u201cI\u2019m not sure if that\u2019s genuine or not,\u201d the star said. \u201cI think it\u2019s a little bit performative. That\u2019s just my take on it. It could be interpreted differently, but I think whether or not this Caesar that I\u2019m playing has any empathy is really not the point to him. He needs to succeed. He needs this to go well, and he needs to get the promotion he\u2019s looking for. So it doesn\u2019t matter whether or not he has empathy; he shuts it off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFanning, dressed in a divine (and very Effie Trinket) Robert Wun dress with a spinning ballerina hat on her head, opened up about the experience of being fancast as the younger version of Elizabeth Banks\u2019 character. \u201cThis franchise is what it is because of the fans, and so because of that, when they\u2019re like, \u2018Oh, we would love Elle to play Effie,\u2019 of course it\u2019s daunting because you want to do them justice and make them proud. And I hope when the film comes out that they feel like they made the right choice,\u201d she beamed.<\/p>\n

Kieran Culkin admits he initially thought \u201cthat\u2019s a no-brainer \u2013 don\u2019t do it\u201d about #TheHungerGames<\/a>: Sunrise on the Reaping because fans would just miss Stanley Tucci\u2019s Caesar Flickerman.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found a different take on it, something that I think connects to his.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/QQdQiQoQPo<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tShe reveals she texted with Banks a little bit about how she was going to make Effie her own. \u201cShe is so unbelievably kind and so talented and just an incredibly generous person,\u201d the Oscar nominee told THR. \u201cAnd she really wanted me to have fun. She was like, \u2018I want you to have as much fun as I did getting to play her. I give you my blessing, make her your own.\u2019 And so that gave me the confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGrace felt similarly daunted when she was fancast as Haymitch\u2019s arena ally, Maysilee. \u201cI think that what eased some of the pressure was the fact that people seemed to respond mostly nicely to my casting, which is not always the case,\u201d said the actress, in a stunning, sequined blue dress, to THR. \u201cThat meant so much to me that the fanbase liked me as Maysilee because I was like, \u2018I don\u2019t even know if I like myself as Maysilee! How am I gonna do this justice?\u2019 Like, taking on something like this in a franchise that I care so deeply about and a character that means everything to me. It\u2019s been so daunting and insane.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Handmaid\u2019s Tale actress added: \u201cUsually whenever you\u2019re fancast, I find that it doesn\u2019t end up working out, so I always get terrified. I\u2019m like, \u2018No, the casting directors are gonna see this and they\u2019re not gonna hire me!\u2019 But I think Francis, I don\u2019t know if he pays attention to those things, but he\u2019s tuned in to what the fans love [and] he\u2019s always going to pick whoever he sees [as the] best fit for the role, and so I\u2019m just so thankful that he even watched my tape, let alone that he hired me, and now I\u2019m at the premiere and promoting it and I\u2019m in The Hunger Games!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt meant so much to me that the fanbase liked me as Maysilee because I was like, \u2018I don\u2019t even know if I like myself as Maysilee! How am I gonna do this justice?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

McKenna Grace on being fancast in her #TheHungerGames<\/a>: Sunrise on the Reaping role: pic.twitter.com\/96mzQ36ZSB<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tLawrence, meanwhile, jokingly chastised Jennifer Lawrence for revealing her involvement on Call Her Daddy and said he tried not to tell her or Harrelson about bringing their characters back until the very last moment. \u201cI debated when to tell them,\u201d he said on the carpet. \u201cWoody was the first to know because the story is about his character. But I have to say I think we waited till almost the day before the book was announced, and we were already working on the adaptation. Because, let\u2019s say, Jen and Woody can be a bit unfiltered at times, and so I just didn\u2019t want them spilling secrets, as she just did on a podcast,\u201d he smiled. \u201cI was like, \u2018OK, I\u2019m gonna wait till the last possible moment to lessen the amount of time anybody has a chance to talk.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTHR also managed to grab time with Fiennes and Close on the carpet at Wednesday night\u2019s launch event. Fiennes touched on stepping into the shoes of the late Donald Sutherland with his role as a middle-aged President Snow. \u201cWell, I\u2019m a huge admirer of Donald\u2019s work, and I worked with him some time ago. So I think the thing is to look at what he\u2019s created and try and use that, but without doing an imitation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOn how he approached Snow\u2019s psychology in this movie \u2014\u00a0especially considering the background we were given in The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes \u2014\u00a0Fiennes replied: \u201cIt\u2019s all about him, isn\u2019t it? These games are all about him, they\u2019re reflecting on him, his power, his control. At the beginning, I think he thinks he\u2019s in a good place, except it all goes wrong with the chariot race, and then he\u2019s confronted by this young man [Haymitch] who\u2019s confronting him. It issues a challenge. Just by looking at him, that\u2019s a criticism [to Snow].\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tClose dazzled in a green dress and stopped by to talk to THR about the impressive makeup on display as Drusilla Sickle. \u201cThe only prosthetic I had was when we pushed up my nose, they kept it like a little pig with surgical tape. Then there was a beautiful prosthetic that was made to cover that so you didn\u2019t see the tape. That\u2019s the only prosthetic. Everything else was stretching my face. It took 3.5 hours,\u201d said the star. She added about her role as Capitol chaperone to District 12: \u201cShe\u2019s vile to the core. I think she\u2019s lost [any chance of redemption]. I think maintaining her position at the Capitol is the most important thing for her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping<\/a> hits theaters Nov. 20.<\/p>\n