Once I marked Sunrise on the Reaping off on my to be read list, the movie instantly became one of those book-to-screen adaptations I need to see. As it inches closer everyday on the 2026 movie schedule, Mckenna Grace has opened up about fighting for a bunch of book details to make it into the movie. Personally, I love that she volunteered as tribute on behalf of the fans.
Sunrise on the Reaping is 400 pages long, so I just know a bunch of little moments are going to have to get cut for time. Grace plays Maysilee Donner, who’s one of four District 12 tributes in the prequel focused on Haymitch. Because there's a massive cast of characters in the new Hunger Games, some of Maysilee’s stuff are sure to be taken out, but turns out the actress came on the set swinging. In her words:
I fought really hard for the braid. I also fought really hard for Marilee and Maysilee’s pins – mockingjay and the hummingbird. I was very adamant that I would be drinking coffee in the Capitol, even if we never acknowledged it. I always wanted to be eating with my silverware. I just, I had all of my little things tucked in the back of my head. Always manners, always posture, always silverware.
Maysilee is a particularly important character in the Sunrise on the Reaping book because of her connections to Katniss Everdeen. As we learn in Suzanne Collins’ novel, she’s the first person to wear the Mockingjay pin in the universe. I would think it’d be a no-brainer for the movie to add this in, but according to Grace, that wasn’t the case.
Another great detail the 20-year-old brought up is Maysilee’s love of coffee. Grace said she made sure she was drinking it in scenes even if all the parts in the book about it didn’t make the film.
There’s also a powerful scene around silverware where she demands that her and the other tributes get cutlery rather than having to eat with their hands to not “let them” treat them like animals. I’m not sure this scene is in the movie, but it sounds like Grace made sure the nods to it were still there. She also said this to Missing Perspectives:
I really fought to keep the necklaces in the arena, but eventually they took those from me. So, I lost one battle, but I won a lot of them.
Maysilee memorably wears six necklaces which she made herself in the book. It ends up finding importance especially regarding the death of one character. Grace said adding this detail to the movie was “one battle” she lost, but hey, she clearly won a lot of other hard fought ones. As Grace added this about the filmmaking process, too:
We spent a lot of time watching all the old movies and re-reading the book and taking as many notes as we could. So, I feel like I definitely tried to keep as much as I could.
I really appreciate all the speaking up she did, because I know fans like myself will notice. Mckenna Grace has recently paid homage to Katniss with not one gown but two on the press tour. I especially loved her nod to Katniss’s iconic white dress.
You can check out the latest Sunrise on the Reaping trailer ahead of its release on November 20.
