Elizabeth Banks Calls 'Sunrise on the Reaping' 'Amazing': Zada Is a 'Perfect' Haymitch

Elizabeth Banks has seen "The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping" and gives it a verdict of two words: "it's amazing." She delivered the endorsement Wednesday night at the Airbnb.org Gala in Los Angeles.

Banks played Effie Trinket in the first four Hunger Games films, released between 2012 and 2015. Her stamp of approval carries weight with a fanbase that measures new casting against old. "I've seen the film, and it's amazing," she said.

Who plays whom in the prequel?

The film adapts Suzanne Collins' 2025 novel "Sunrise on the Reaping," which centers on a young Haymitch Abernathy fighting to survive the 50th Hunger Games. Joseph Zada takes the role Woody Harrelson made famous.

The cast list reads like a studio's wishlist:

• Jesse Plemons as Plutarch
• Ralph Fiennes as President Snow
• Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman
• Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket
• Maya Hawke as Wiress
• Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Beetee

New franchise characters come from Mckenna Grace, Glenn Close and Whitney Peak, among others. Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Harrelson return as Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch in a flash-forward scene.

Banks saved her warmest words for the newcomer. "Joseph is a perfect Woody Harrelson," she said. "He's fantastic. I can't wait for people to see it." High praise from the actor who shared a decade of press tours with the original.

What did Zada say about filming it?

Zada spoke earlier this month about the shoot. His first day took place on the Cornucopia, the arena's central weapons cache. "You're sitting there and there are 47 other kids around, and there's this massive drone, so there's no crew," he said. "It was the most mental place to film. Getting ready to run into it, I had all those nerves and it worked out for the character."

He praised Plemons as a scene partner. "He's so good, and once you get into a little bit, he's so easy to play with that you really feel like you're on fire in the moment."

Glenn Close, it turns out, has a hobby between takes. "She would growl at me," Zada said, laughing. "She was so lovely all the time, [but] she'd flip into the character and she'd look at you and hiss. You're just startled. Just for fun, just to mess with people, I guess."

He insisted the affection was genuine. "She's the most wonderful person ever, so generous outside of acting as well. Just always wanted to come up to me and talk and see how I was doing. She's gorgeous."

Lionsgate releases "The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping" in theaters on Nov. 20. Banks's early endorsement, plus the returning Lawrence-Hutcherson-Harrelson cameo, gives the studio a marketing tailwind most prequels would envy. Now the film just has to survive contact with the audience.