The first trailer for the next instalment in the Hunger Games franchise was released overnight – and one brief moment at the start of the clip has fans reeling.
The first look at The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, released on November 20 next year (that’s right – one year away), includes the first look at eight-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close, who has joined the franchise for this film to play the character Drusilla Sickle.
Wheeled on stage in a stretcher, Close addresses a crowd in character dressed in garish clothes, heavy make-up and a red bobbed wig.
But it’s not just hair and make-up but Close’s entire face that looks different: As many fans have noted on social media, the 78-year-old actress, known for her natural look off-screen, looks to be wearing fake teeth and heavy prosthetics to give her the appearance of someone who’s undergone major cosmetic surgery.
“Was honestly so confused because she had the aura of Glenn Close but I didn’t recognise her, that makeup is insane!” commented one fan on social media.
“Went back and rewatched it and was like no it’s a different actress. took me four times to conclude that’s Glenn,” said another.
“Glenn Close has had some incredible physical transformations throughout the years, but this might be number one,” one fan declared.
Others agreed the trailer left them confused, wondering when Close would appear on screen and not realising that was her in the opening seconds as Capitol villain Drusilla.
Of course, Close is known for disappearing into her roles, frequently appearing on screen looking virtually unrecognisable.
In recent years she’s transformed to play everything from a transgender man in 19th century Ireland in Albert Nobbs (2011) to a working class grandma in Hillbilly Elegy (2020) to a woman possessed by demons in last year’s Deliverance.
Close’s most recent on-screen role was in perhaps the year’s most critically reviled series, Ryan Murphy’s campy legal drama (and Kim Kardashian acting vehicle) All’s Fair.
Kardashian, who acts as an executive producer of the series alongside her mother Kris Jenner, has the central role as a successful divorce lawyer and the owner of an all-female law firm.
The series copped a battering from the critics upon release, including a rare zero-stars review from The Guardian.
The Times went even further, declaring it “may be the worst TV drama ever.”
Close appeared to cop to the bad reviews in a recent interview, conceding that the series didn’t have a great start – but encouraging viewers to stick with it.
“I personally think that the first three episodes were the weakest,” she told Variety.
“That was a tough way to start. I’ve seen all nine episodes, and I think it actually adds up to something.”
