The internet turned a former child star’s fashion moment into a full-blown casting campaign.
McKenna Grace, starring in the upcoming film The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, was recently seen wearing a black sheer dress that reminded fans of one of the biggest pop icons of an entire generation.
Fans believed Grace’s style and mannerisms resembled the pop star and were convinced she should bring the singer’s story to the big screen.
McKenna Grace’s sheer dress sparked comparisons to one of the most iconic pop stars of her generation
Playing Britney Spears is no small assignment, but fans think McKenna Grace might be up for the challenge.
The 20-year-old actress recently stepped out in a sheer black lace number to support her Hunger Games co-star Joseph Zada at his CULTURED Magazine cover launch party on Tuesday, November 10. The event was held at Duke’s at Sunset Tower Hotel in Los Angeles.
The see-through dress looked strikingly similar to the famous black lace Dolce & Gabbana minidress Spears wore to the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). She famously performed I’m a Slave 4 U with a live tiger during the show.
The resemblance prompted one fan to comment, “Britney biopic HELLOO” on Grace’s photo.
Her co-star Zada also endorsed the casting choice during a joint interview with Grace to promote their upcoming film.
Zada enthusiastically declared that the actress should play the Toxic hitmaker while speaking to PopSugar Australia.
“You need to clip this. Britney Spears. Oh my gosh. McKenna needs to play Britney Spears,” he gushed.
Her co-star Joseph Zada is already campaigning for her to be cast as the Toxic hitmaker
Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Cultured Magazine
“McKenna needs to play Britney Spears, like ASAP. She would absolutely kill that role,” he added.
Grace appeared amused by the suggestion but seemingly didn’t mind it, joking: “I need to play Britney Spears, and you need to play Stuart Little.”
Others have also been making similar suggestions after seeing interview clips of her promoting her upcoming movie.
“Mckenna Grace NEEDS to play Britney Spears,” one said.
Another wrote, “She’s the perfect Brittany.”
While fans may already have their casting choice, the film itself is still in its early stages, with no official casting announcements.
Director Jon M. Chu spoke about what’s happening with the film’s casting
The biopic will reportedly be based on Spears’s bestselling 2023 memoir The Women in Me. And Liz Meriwether, best known for television’s New Girl and The Dropout, had joined the team to write the screenplay.
Director Jon M. Chu recently confirmed that casting wasn’t even on his radar yet, explaining that the team was focused on getting the story right first.
“I get emails every day, hundreds of emails from people all around the world. Thank you for sending all your auditions,” Chu told Variety in September.
“I am not even thinking about casting right now. We’re just trying to get the story right,” he added.
When asked whether he’s been spending time with the Gimme More singer, he said: “I cannot say anything right now.”
The Wicked filmmaker remained tight-lipped about the biopic, but he said he has read parts of Meriwether’s script.
“She’s doing many beautiful things and I may or may have not gotten glimpses of what she’s been doing and it’s incredible,” he told the outlet.
“It’s incredible, profound, beautiful. And that’s all I can say about it,” he added. “You already got me to say too much.”
Grace previously revealed Britney was her dream biopic role if she could ever play a singer
Grace would probably be ecstatic to be cast as the Toxic hitmaker and once expressed interest in the role.
“If you could play any singer in a biopic, who would you play?” she was asked during a 2024 interview with Capital Buzz.
“Britney Spears,” she declared. “I love her.”
The Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire actress said Spears was a part of her everyday life for several years.
“I used to live like 2 hours outside of LA, and I would have to drive into LA every single day, and I had the little movie screens on the back of the headrest that you’d watch in the back seat,” she explained.
During those journeys, Grace would play the singer’s Greatest Hits CD on repeat.
“Every single day—two hours into LA, 2 hours out of LA—I would watch that on repeat for 5 years of my life,” she said.
“Even the way she laughs is Britney coded,” one commented online
