If a prequel to The Hunger Games Saga focusing on the 71st Hunger Games were to be made, the producers at Lionsgate would need to find the perfect actor to play that year’s victor Johanna Mason (played by Jena Malone in the Hunger Games movie franchise). Johanna notably won her Games at 17 years old by pretending to be weak and frightened, convincing the other tributes that she was nothing to worry about. No one bothered her until there were only a few tributes left, and she then revealed her natural talent with an axe and killed the rest.
By the time she appears in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire as a tribute in the Quarter Quell, Johanna is in her early 20s and is no longer hiding her ferocity, completely forthright in all her interactions. Even President Snow cannot control Johanna as she has no loved ones he can threaten. Johanna’s backstory would be a compelling movie which would depict her as just as vicious at a young age, and possibly shed some light on the story of her family. She would be challenging but also incredibly fun for any up-and-coming star to play.
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10 Madison Wolfe
Best known for The Conjuring 2 (2016) and I Kill Giants (2017).
Madison Wolfe is best known for starring in a little-known fantasy adventure. In I Kill Giants, Wolfe plays a young girl who must protect her family and friends from oncoming giants — possibly, as the movie is ambiguous about whether this really happens or if she is using her imagination to cope with her mother’s terminal illness. Still, it is interesting to consider Wolfe’s experience playing a combat-ready girl in the context of her being cast as Johanna.
Johanna was likely required to work in District 7’s lumber industry from a young age, explaining her ability to wield an axe. Her parents may have been killed by the Capitol as retribution for her rebellious attitude, but it is just as likely that they died of an illness or accident, due to the dangerous working and living conditions in the districts. In other words, there are some parallels between Johanna and Wolfe’s I Kill Giants character. Since I Kill Giants, Wolfe has guest-starred in Mayfair Witches.
9 Brooklynn Prince
Best known for The Florida Project (2017) and Cocaine Bear (2023).
Brooklynn Prince is younger than Johanna would be in this movie, only 13 years old. However, since many of the casting choices are likely to be older than Johanna, it would be beneficial to at least consider a younger actress. The children who perish in the Games are among the most tragic deaths in the Hunger Games franchise and reflect one of the series’ biggest themes. Prince plays independent girls who are up for an adventure in both The Florida Project and Cocaine Bear. She won the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Young Actor/Actress for The Florida Project.
8 Emily Carey
Best known for Wonder Woman (2017) and House of the Dragon (2022-Present).
Emily Carey is a proven dramatic actress, who filmed her breakthrough role of a teenage Alicent Hightower at 18 years old. Alicent’s story is heartbreaking, as she is married off and has children before she is an adult herself. After everything the world has done to hurt her, she starts to demand something back by fighting for her son to inherit the throne.
Alicent is not an action-centric character, perhaps making Carey’s House of the Dragon co-star Milly Alcock the more obvious choice for Johanna. However, Carey deserves the chance to expand her career by taking on an action-heavy role such as Johanna and using her dramatic acting skills in a different story. Carey did play a young Diana in the action movie Wonder Woman.
7 Esmé Creed-Miles
Best known for Hanna (2016-2021).
Esmé Creed-Miles is best known as the title protagonist of Hanna, based on Saoirse Ronan’s 2011 movie of the same name. Hanna is about a teenage girl raised in the forest and trained to be an assassin, evading a relentless CIA agent throughout the series. The character has a lot of traits that Creed-Miles could draw upon to effectively play Johanna — as soon as she is in action, the District 7 victor can be seen in Hanna’s persona. Creed-Miles also stars in the drama Silver Haze and the upcoming crime drama Luna.
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6 Thomasin McKenzie
Best known for Jojo Rabbit (2019) and Last Night in Soho (2021).
Thomasin McKenzie has played more defensive characters who lean into Johanna’s faked timid persona during most of her Games. She plays Elsa, a Jewish girl living in hiding in World War II Germany in Jojo Rabbit, and a dreamy aspiring fashion designer haunted by visions of the past in Last Night in Soho. However, she is an amazing actress and has some moments of intensity and aggressiveness in the latter movie. Playing Johanna might be a challenge for McKenzie, but she would rise to the challenge and become a more rounded actress.
5 McKenna Grace
Best known for Gifted (2017) and Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021).
McKenna Grace is one of the most popular rising young actors, who got her start playing the younger versions of characters such as Emma Swan in Once Upon a Time. However, as her career continues to grow, it’s becoming clear that she is destined to be a star. This includes the heartfelt role of a genius teenager struggling to connect with her peers in Young Sheldon, as well as some popular action movies. Being included in a blockbuster franchise such as The Hunger Games would cement Grace’s career. Additionally, Grace’s facial features bear a stronger resemblance to Jena Malone than most.
4 Bella Ramsey
Best known for Game of Thrones (2011-2019) and The Last of Us (2023-Present).
Bella Ramsey admittedly does not look much like Malone. However, if the producers are willing to look past this (because they can only get so close to someone who matches the original actress), Ramsey would be a brilliant Johanna. They have played several characters who are feisty and ready to charge into battle, regardless of if they have any experience. While their typical character archetype aligns with Johanna, they are also an all-around talented actor who should be considered for any role.
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3 Kiernan Shipka
Best known for Mad Men (2007-2015) and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-2020).
Kiernan Shipka also resembles Malone. Shipka is most well-known for playing Sabrina Spellman in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, who is decidedly more perky than Johanna. However, Sabrina is still a determined young woman who remains level-headed in dangerous situations. Darker properties featuring moments of action such as Swimming with Sharks, The Blackcoat’s Daughter, and Mad Men are also among Shipka’s best movies and TV shows. She might not be famous for it, but Shipka has proven that she can embody the gritty and rebellious aspects of Johanna’s personality.
2 Dafne Keen
Best known for Logan (2017) and His Dark Materials (2019-2022).
Not unlike Ramsey, Dafne Keen is known for feisty characters. Her action sequences in Logan demonstrate how she would excel at Johanna’s fight scenes, albeit with some different technical skills and choreography involved. However, Keen’s character Lyra, the protagonist of His Dark Materials, is ferocious in more than one way and is significant to how Keen would play Johanna.
Lyra will run into danger to save a friend, but she is also shown questioning everything about her world and its authority figures. Johanna might have entered the Games knowing she would be ready to cuss out the Capitol on national TV, but it would also be interesting to see her grow into this person. It might have taken her time and observing the society she lives in to realize that she is one of the few people who can rebel because she cannot be punished.
1 Millie Bobby Brown
Best known for Enola Homes (2020) and Stranger Things (2016-2025).
Millie Bobby Brown would probably be the frontrunner to play Johanna at one point or another. One of Hollywood’s most successful young stars, Brown’s upcoming Netflix movie Damsel will show her action skills, while she has been demonstrating her acting talent in the sci-fi horror Stranger Things for years. Eleven’s most vicious moments of using her powers show what Brown might be like as Johanna, even if hurling an axe is a different concept. However, Brown still has competition when it comes to who could play a teenage Johanna in a prequel to The Hunger Games Saga.
