They’re staying busy in Panem! Just over a month after the Hunger Games prequel book Sunrise on the Reaping was released, we’ve already got some major casting news for the movie adaptation. Mckenna Grace is stepping into the role of Maysilee Donner in the Sunrise on the Reaping movie. Now, if you haven’t revisited The Hunger Games series since Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark were hanging in the arena, you might be a little lost. But let me tell you, Maysilee is a key part of the series, so the pressure is on for Mckenna.
Sunrise on the Reaping takes place 24 years before Katniss’ first Hunger Games. In the prequel, Haymitch Abernathy, who was Katiniss’ mentor, is a 16-year-old kid who gets pulled into 50th annual Hunger Games to represent District 12. Woody Harrelson played adult Haymitch in The Hunger Games movies. But his younger self will be played by Joseph Zada, who stars in the upcoming We Were Liars series.
And that’s not the only casting news her have; Haymitch’s girlfriend Lenore Dove Baird, will be played by Whitney Peak from the Gossip Girl reboot. Plutarch Heavensbee was played by the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Mockingjay Part 1 and Part 2, but he’ll be played by Jesse Plemons in the upcoming Sunrise on the Reaping movie.
Okay, but back to Mckenna Grace and her Sunrise on the Reaping character. Here’s your explainer on Maysilee Donner is so important to the series.
Who Is Maysilee Donner In The Hunger Games World?
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Just like Haymitch, Maysilee is District 12 tribute sent to fight to the death in the 50th annual Hunger Games. But unlike Haymitch, Maysilee is part of the wealthier merchant class of the district. Because of that, her father can afford two gold pins for his twin daughters, Maysilee and Merrilee. He gives Merrilee one with a hummingbird design. And for Maysilee? You guessed it; she receives a mockingjay pin.
Real ones know how important the Mockingjay is in The Hunger Games. The pin gets passed down to Katniss and she wears it in the arena. Because of that pin, she gets the nickname Mockingjay, and then sparks a whole revolution.
In the books, Katniss receives the pin as a gift from a relative of Maysilee, but in the movies she finds the pin at a market. It’s unclear how the Sunrise on the Reaping movie will handle the storyline, but no matter what Maysilee is still super important to the plot. During the 50th Hunger Games, she forms a key alliance with Haymitch that’s pivotal to the plot.
