Fans of the Hunger Games series have been eagerly awaiting news of the upcoming movie adaptation of the prequel novel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and, after a renaissance of Hunger Games content on TikTok, Lionsgate has released the first trailer for The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and it promises an exciting addition to the beloved franchise and a fascinating journey into the origins of the brutal games.
The novel follows the story of Coriolanus Snow, the future tyrannical President of Panem, it explores Snow’s as he mentors District 12th female tribute to the Hunger Games: Lucy Gray Baird and lives through the events that solidify his path to tyranny. The film takes place against the backdrop of the 10th Hunger Games and, because they are still in their early years, they are not as polished and grandiose as we see in the original trilogy.
The film adaptation will be directed by Francis Lawrence, who previously directed Constantine, I Am Legend, and all but the first Hunger Games films, and will feature a screenplay by Michael Arndt and Michael Lesslie. The cast includes Rachel Zegler, known for her debut as María in the 2021 adaptation of West Side Story, who plays Lucy Gray Baird, the young mentee of Coriolanus Snow, who will be played by Tom Blyth. The cast also includes Viola Davis, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, and Peter Dinklage. James Newton Howard is also back to write the score.
In the trailer, we get to meet Coriolanus Snow and Lucy Gray and get to see the bright red uniforms of the Capitol’s Academy, which are part of a much more aesthetically subdued world in comparison to the baroque characteristics of the original trilogy. The trailer hints at the complex relationships and power struggles that will be present in the film, and it promises to be a taste of a darker and more complex side of the world of the Hunger Games that, based on the trailer, will be worth the wait.
The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songs and Snakes will be released in theaters on November 17th, 2023
Featured Image Courtesy of Lionsgate
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