The Hunger Games saga by Suzanne Collins gained a huge following when it debuted, and the movie franchise based on the novels stole the hearts of audiences and made Jennifer Lawrence a star.
The dystopian saga, set in a post-apocalyptic North America in a nation called Panem, told the story of Katniss Everdeen, who voluntarily participated in a deadly contest called the Hunger Games. The cruel event was organised by the almighty Capitol, which ruled over 12 districts of the country. Each area chose one teenaged tribute to combat for life and death every year.
Years later, we are revisiting The Hunger Games universe. However, the new film will cover what happened decades before Katniss Everdeen. Here’s everything you need to know about The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.
The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes release date
The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes will drop in cinemas on Friday, 17 November 2023.
Lionsgate Movies
The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes plot
The prequel is set 64 years before the events from the original saga. The film’s main character is Coriolanus Snow, who served as the despotic president in the previous series. The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes tells the story of his youth.
At aged 18, Snow is preparing Lucy Gray Baird, a teenage tribute from District 12, for the Hunger Games. Initial reluctance turns into friendship as both Coriolanus and Lucy realise that together, they have a chance to win the deadly competition.
The film is based on Suzanne Collins’s book of the same title, and it’s directed by Francis Lawrence who also worked on the four films in The Hunger Games universe.
Lionsgate Movies
The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes cast
The film features mainly young actors, but a few well-known names are in the cast.
- Tom Blyth – teenage Coriolanus Snow
- Rachel Zegler – Lucy Gray Baird, the tribute from District 12
- Hunter Schafer – Tigris Snow, Coriolanus’s cousin and friend
- Laurel Marsden – Mayfair Lipp, responsible for selecting Lucy for the games
- Jason Schwartzman – Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman, the host of the 10th Hunger Games and a predecessor of Caesar Flickerman
- Ashley Liao – Clemensia Dovecote, the mentor for the tribute from District 11
- Aamer Husain – Felix Ravinstill, the mentor for the tribute from District 11
- Lilly Cooper – Arachne Crane, the mentor for the tribute from District 10
- Josh Andrés Rivera – Sejanus Plinth, the mentor for the tribute from District 2
The cast also includes Peter Dinklage, the star of Game of Thrones, who portrays Casca Highbottom, the Dean of the Academy. According to the director, Francis Lawrence, Highbottom will be a strict and vengeful man, and his actions will shape Snow’s entire life.
Viola Davis will star as another important character, Dr Volumnia Gaul, the head gamemaker of the 10th annual Hunger Games.
The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes trailer
You can watch the first trailer for The Hunger Games prequel below:
The second trailer gives you a glimpse of the war and takes you into the chaos of the fatal combat:
