Mckenna Grace is one of the youngest successful actresses of her generation. The actress, who began her career at the age of five, has starred in large franchise films such as Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Scream 7 and Five Nights at Freddy’s 2. She will soon appear in the latest The Hunger Games installment, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on The Reaping, and the newest Scooby-Doo series, Scooby-Doo: Origins.
Despite her recurring roles in blockbuster films, her excitement never dwindles, as Grace is the ultimate fangirl. One of her biggest fangirl obsessions is The Hunger Games, so much so that she ran a fan edit TikTok account. While working alongside Josh Hutcherson on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, Entertainment Tonight embarrassingly revealed to Hutcherson that Grace created edits of him in the original franchise.
The film, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on The Reaping, is an adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ latest prequel to the original trilogy. The story follows the games of Haymitch Abernathy 24 years before he became the District 12 mentor to Katniss and Peeta.
Grace will be playing one of the four tributes from District 12, Maysilee Donner, as well as Maysilee’s identical twin, Merrilee. The Donner twins are in good hands with Grace, as her adoration for the franchise is proving to be important as the characters have long existed outside of just Suzanne Collins’ novels for some fans. Grace, as a longtime fangirl of The Hunger Games, has consumed all of the related media.
Directed by John Lyde and produced by Mainstay Productions, The Hunger Games: The Second Quarter Quell, is a 2011 fan short film of what Haymitch’s games may have looked like, based on breadcrumbs written in the original trilogy. With over 14 million views on YouTube, this video is a beloved production and many fans are hoping some of the details will carry to the film.
Grace is ensuring this dream will happen with one key detail: Maysilee’s braid. Braids have been a symbol of the rebellion throughout the franchise, most notably with Katniss’ iconic dutch side braid. In the fan short film, Maysilee is depicted donning a small braid on one side of her hair. Grace has kept the same braid in the upcoming Lionsgate film, just in a different spot on her head.
Grace’s fangirl history and immersion into the fan culture has made her an even better and more fan-beloved Maysilee. Grace told E! News she would show up to rehearsals each day with a braid in her hair and wanted to make sure that she could continue doing so in actual shooting. Now, on press tour, she continues to wear braids in her hair.
“For me it was paying homage to the Maysilee that came before me in the fan film, because she was such an iconic portrayal, and that’s what I envisioned whenever I was reading the book,” Grace said to E! News.
Alongside honoring the fan film, Grace is keeping true to the geography of District 12, which is set in Appalachia. In one of the latest teasers, Grace speaks a full sentence for the first time as Maysilee. She is putting on an Appalachian accent, much as Rachel Zegler did for her character Lucy Gray in the earlier prequel, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.
As more and more teasers drop for the film, and Grace continues to do press, her fangirl essence is proving to be paying off time and time again, and while the film is not released until November 20, I think it’s safe to say Grace has done Maysilee Donner justice.
