The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakesis about to bring audiences back to Panem, in a prequel to the film series starringJennifer Lawrencethat took the world by storm a decade ago. By exploring a different time period, the movie will go through Coriolanus Snow’s (Tom Blyth) journey as a young man, explaining how he became the ruthless villain played byDonald Sutherlandin the original films. During a recent interview with Collider’sPerri Nemiroff, franchise producerNina Jacobsonspoke about what viewers can expect from the future of the series, singing the praises of series authorSuzanne Collins.
“You know, for me, Suzanne is my North Star. If she has a story she wants to tell, I’m ready, willing, and able to tell it. If there were a story she wanted to tell that wasn’t based on a book but was an idea of hers that she knew what she wanted to do with it, I’d be up for that. I just would never do any of it without her at my side. She is the source of all things relevant and important to the series, and I would never presume to know how to do it without her.”
Collinswrote the books that have inspired both the successful film series and its upcoming prequel, with her universe coming to life on the big screen under the direction ofGary RossandFrancis Lawrence. After the first fourHunger Gamesinstallments earned over$2.9 billion at the worldwide box office, the studio confidently brings property back for new audiences, with an adaptation of Collins' prequel novel. To achieve a successful revival of the franchise, a star-studded cast was assembled to tell the origin story of President Snow and the 10th annual Hunger Games.
Rachel Zegleris set to play Lucy Gray Baird, a tribute from District 12 who was part of a traveling music group. The relationship she develops with Snow will change the way both of them look at the world, with neither of them knowing that the young man will eventually become the most feared figure in Panem. In the prequel, Snow will meetPeter Dinklage’s Dean Casca Highbottom, the person responsible for creating the Hunger Games. Secrets that have been hidden at the heart of The Capitol for years are about to be revealed.
Coriolanus Snow will have a group of very interesting people surrounding him as he attends the 10th annual Hunger Games. His cousin, Tigris Snow (Hunter Schafer) is an expert on Panem’s fashion landscape, and she’s also the person he trusts the most. After starring in projects such asThe Woman KingandAir,Viola Daviswill play Dr. Volumnia Gaul inThe Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the Head Gamemaker for the brutal and bloody event.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakeswill premiere in theaters in the U.S. on November 17.
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Watch Nemiroff’s full conversation with Jacobson below.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakesfollows a young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) - the last hope for the once-proud Snow family - who is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from the impoverished District 12 for the 10th Hunger Games. Snow sets out on a race against time to survive and reveal if he will become a songbird or a snake.
