Sunrise on the Reaping couldn’t have picked a better person than Mckenna Grace to play Maysilee and Merrilee Donner in the upcoming movie. The actress is bringing her Hunger Games fangirl credentials to the table. Set for release on November 20, 2026, the film is based on Suzanne Collins’ novel of the same name. Serving as both a sequel to The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and a prequel to The Hunger Games, it follows a young Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada) during the 50th Hunger Games. Grace is acting in a dual-role as the Donner sisters, including the fellow District 12 tribute, Maysilee. And as a lifelong fan of the franchise, the Young Sheldon star has already had a say in how the character is brought to the screen. McKenna Grace is the ultimate Hunger Games fangirl In a new interview, Grace explained that she kept a journal for her characters featuring details she knew fans wanted to see. And that included two crucial elements of Maysilee’s look: the mockingjay pin and her hair braid. As you’ll no doubt be well aware, in Sunrise on the Reaping, Maysilee owns the mockingjay pin that eventually becomes Katniss Everdeen’s iconic symbol. The braid is a little different – it comes from MainstayPro’s 2011 fan film, The Second Quarter Quell. It’s a fun Easter egg, and one that proves just how deeply ingrained in the Hunger Games fandom Grace really is. As she explained to Cosmopolitan, “I keep a journal for my characters with pages dedicated to fan things. For Maysilee, I’m like, Okay, they want to see the braid, so I’d pull Francis [Lawrence, director] aside, like, ‘Look, man, she needs this braid in her hair; she needs this pin.’ He’s like, ‘Sure, Mckenna.’” She continued, “I was very invested in all of it – the headcanons and the fan base. I had this huge Hunger Games poster. I got a bow and arrows so that I could be like Katniss. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (@hungergameske) “I told Francis Lawrence when I got to set: ‘Dude, I’ve watched these movies and read these books a million times. I’ve edited these cornucopias. To be running off my own podium toward the cornucopia, this is not real to me.’” On the idea that Maysilee is misunderstood as just a mean girl, Grace said, “She does get a bad rap, and she has that snark to her, but she has a kind heart. She cares about the people she loves.” Oh, and Grace was once again reminded of the ‘Team Peeta’ fan edits she made back in the day, not realising that they would come back to haunt her years later. “Why did it have to get back to Josh [Hutcherson] is my thing. I played it so cool for a year and a half of knowing him, and he never brought it up. But everyone keeps reminding him,” she joked. “Just let it die; let a girl have some dignity. I do regret it in a way, but I am also just like, ‘I am a real fan, a fangirl. I’m a CapCut warrior.’” View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (@hungergameske) The actress also unpacked a key moment from the book: the slap between Maysilee and District 12 Capitol escort, Drusilla. Yes, it happens in the movie, but Drusilla is played by Glenn Close – and Grace wasn’t keen on actually slapping an icon in real life. “You think I’m going to slap Glenn Close? Hell no. I am terrified of her in the best way. I love her to death,” she said. For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page. Featured image credit: Lionsgate Post navigation Next storyPrevious story
