Elle Fanning received flowers from Elizabeth Banks after being cast as her character in the upcoming prequel The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
The Great actress will play a younger version of Effie Trinket in the prequel, which is set 24 years before Banks portrayed the character in the original Hunger Games franchise.
Banks publicly congratulated Fanning on landing the role via Instagram when it was announced in May, and Fanning has now revealed that she has supported her privately too.
"Effie has always been my favourite character," she told MTV News. "I think Elizabeth Banks brought so much - just even beyond those books - layers to that character. I love her, and I have got to talk to Elizabeth."
"We've texted, and she sent me flowers and said, 'May the odds be in your favour,' so very special," she added, referring to Effie's most famous line: "May the odds be ever in your favour."
The A Complete Unknown actress added that fans of the book were responsible for her casting because they vocally campaigned for her to play Effie on social media.
"It was funny because I think fans made this happen in a way," she said. "The studio (Lionsgate) said they were getting kind of hounded online, like, 'Elle needs to play Effie.'"
Fanning noted that they haven't started filming the prequel yet, but she's already thinking about a take on the character which will "hopefully make the fans happy".
In the prequel novel, which depicts the 50th annual Hunger Games, Effie serves as the stylist to District 12 tribute Haymitch Abernathy, who Joseph Zada will play.
Fanning's co-stars also include Ralph Fiennes, Kieran Culkin, Mckenna Grace, Glenn Close, Billy Porter, Jesse Plemons, and Maya Hawke, among others.
Sunrise on the Reaping, which will once again be directed by Hunger Games mainstay Francis Lawrence, will be released in cinemas on 20 November 2026.
