Summary
- The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a movie adaptation of a prequel novel in The Hunger Games franchise, exploring new places in Panem and delving into its mythology.
- The story focuses on a young version of the main villain, Coriolanus Snow, as he mentors the female tribute Lucy Gray Baird in the 10th Hunger Games, which will have a lasting impact on Panem.
- Unlike his portrayal in the original trilogy, Snow is going through a difficult time and needs his tribute to win the games to financially recover, driving him to become the first mentor from The Academy to win. The movie features a talented cast including Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler in leading roles.
The Hunger Games fans will get to see new places from Panem thanks to The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the movie adaptation of the prequel novel written by Suzanne Collins, which dives deeper into the mythology of the franchise.
The story focuses on a young version of Coriolanus Snow, the main villain of the original saga who was played by Donald Sutherland. This movie takes place more than 60 years before the first appearance of the legendary Katniss Everdeen played by Jennifer Lawrence, during the celebration of the 10th Hunger Games, with Coriolanus being part of it as a mentor of District 12's female tribute Lucy Gray Baird, in an event that will change the way Panem perceives the games forever.
Opposite to when fans met him in the original book trilogy or in the movies, Snow is going through a difficult time after the first war between the districts and the Capitol, and he needs his tribute to win the games to financially recover, so he's determined to become the first alum from The Academy to win as a mentor.
In the latest promo released by Fandango, dean Casca Highbottom, head gamemaker Volumnia Gaul and Coriolanus himself welcome fans to The Academy, presenting a whole new location from the world of The Hunger Games:
Who Stars in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes?
The original movie saga had an amazing cast that included some really big names from Hollywood such as the already mentioned Sutherland, Lawrence as the main star, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Bancks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, Jena Malone and many more.
The franchise has also helped to push some young promising stars' careers, like in the cases of Jack Quaid, Alexander Ludwig, Willow Shields, Isabelle Fuhrman and Amandla Stenberg. So The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes needed a cast as good as this one.
Coriolanus Snow is played by Billy the Kid star Tom Blyth and West Side Story's Rachel Zegler as Lucy Grey Baird, who will be soon joining the world of Disney princesses playing Snow White in the live-action remake. And they'll be joined by some other incredible actors. Peter Dinklage will be playing Casca Highbttom, Viola Davis is Volumnia Gaul, Euphoria's Hunter Schafer as Tigris Snow, and Jason Schwartzman as Lucretius "Lucky" Flickerman. The cast also includes Josh Andres Rivera, Burn Gorman, Fionnula Flanagan, Ashley Liao, Isobel Jesper Jones, Dakota Shapir, Vaughan Reilly, George Somner, Carl Spencer, Scott Folan, Honor Gillies, Eike Onyambu, Konstantin Taffet, Michael Greco, and Daniela Grubert.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is directed by Francis Lawrence, who has been part of the franchise since The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which is considered the best adaptation for the fans. The movie is set to hit theaters on November 17.