Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket in the ‘Hunger Games,’ Elle Fanning. Credit :
Murray Close/Lionsgate/Courtesy Everett; Monica Schipper/Getty
- Elizabeth Banks tells PEOPLE she is “thrilled” to see Elle Fanning be cast as Effie Trinkett in Sunrise on the Reaping
- Banks brought the iconic character to life in four movies from the Hunger Games franchise between 2012 and 2015
- Banks’ new show The Better Sister premieres on Prime Video May 29 with costar Jessica Biel
Elizabeth Banks weighed in on Elle Fanning stepping into Effie Trinket’s iconic costumes for the next Hunger Games movie.
The A Complete Unknown actress, 27, is the latest star to join the cast of The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, a prequel to the original films that starred Banks as the lovable escort to District 12’s Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson).
Sunrise on the Reaping takes place years before the events in the movies and focuses on Haymitch Abernathy’s (Woody Harrelson, now Joseph Zada) experience competing in the Games.
While attending the Wednesday, May 21 premiere of her new series The Better Sister at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Banks, 51, tells PEOPLE she’s thrilled to see Fanning step into the role. “I’m super excited,” Banks says. “I texted the producers as well, and I think she’s perfect.”
Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket. Murray Close/Lionsgate/Courtesy Everett
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The Pitch Perfect star confirms she already texted Fanning to talk about the exciting development. “I think everyone’s really happy. And I’m really happy about that,” she continues. “I’m excited for the next generation to have their Effie.”
Banks admits she hasn’t read Suzanne Collins’ novel of the same name, on which Sunrise on the Reaping is based. “So please don’t ask me any more about the book. I feel terrible, but I have yet to read,” she says, acknowledging that she’s “got time” to dive in before the movie is out in November 2026.
Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-president Erin Westerman reflected on the importance of finding the right person to play Effie.
“From the moment Suzanne released the book, one question echoed from fans around the world: Who will play Effie?” she said in a statement. “Elizabeth Banks made her iconic — so who could honor that legacy while bringing us back to Effie’s early, most formative days?”
Elle Fanning in April 2025. Olivia Wong/WireImage
She continued, “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 favorite from the start, and we’re honored she answered the call. The odds, it turns out, were in our favor.”
The character was not included in the 2023 prequel The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, which was set before her character was introduced to the world of Panem. Instead, the project focused on Tom Blyth as a young Coriolanus Snow, who later becomes the villainous President Snow, and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird, a tribute from District 12.
Her latest project sees Banks acting alongside Jessica Biel in a limited series from Prime Video, which is based on Alafair Burke’s bestselling book of the same name. The pair play sisters who are at odds after their shared husband — Banks’ ex and Biel’s current partner — is found dead in a pool of blood.
The Better Sister is on Prime Video May 29.
