The Hunger Games is one of the best performing franchises of the past decade. Starring Jennifer Lawrence -who managed to become one of the most awarded actresses in Hollywood after her role-, the saga of films based on the books by Suzanne Collins managed to conquer the hearts of those who grew up with Harry Potter and/or Twilight.
However, although the main story has been adapted into films, there is still one book left to be made into a movie: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. And the time has come for it to be brought to the big screen. The book was released in 2020, and it is a prequel to the original trilogy, so the movie will delve much deeper into the Hunger Games themselves and we will see what was going on in the world divided into districts before Katniss and company.
Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Trailer
Lionsgate has just released the trailer for A Ballad of Songbirds and Serpents, and it looks spectacular. Also directed by Francis Lawrence, who was in charge of adapting the saga since Catching Fire, the film aims to be a return to Panem in the most epic way possible: telling the story of the 10th Hunger Games, the most critical in living memory.
Undoubtedly, the trailer already takes us back to what we loved most about the main saga: the epic, the love, the great looks and the drama. Everything is condensed in a story that seems to have nothing to envy to that of Katniss. In addition, the touch of Francis Lawrence, who is already an expert in the world of Panem, is noticeable.
What is Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes about?
But here’s the important part: what’s the story behind the Hunger Games prequel? We leave you with the official synopsis courtesy of Lionsgate, which makes it clear that the story will be very interesting and will make us reconnect with characters we know while we discover more about Panem:
“Set in a post-apocalyptic Panem, the Hunger Games prequel takes us back several decades before the beginning of Katniss Everdeen’s adventures. Young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) will mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), the girl selected as a tribute from the impoverished District 12. The young girl will surprise everyone by singing at the opening ceremony of the Tenth Hunger Games where Snow will try to take advantage of her talent and charm to survive.”
The protagonist will be a girl from District 12, Lucy Gray Baird, but the most interesting thing will be her relationship with Coriolanus Snow, the great villain of the original films who will have a great weight in the plot. Both his way of seeing the world and his idea about how the Hunger Games should be emerge here.
Cast of A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
The team at the helm of the film is also very interesting. The leading lady will be Rachel Zegler, who we know very well for being the star of West Side Story. Alongside her will be Tom Blyth, a more unknown actor who has appeared in features like Benediction and Scott and Sid, but who seems to be a promising Hollywood actor.
We leave you with the full cast of the film, which also incorporates very interesting actors such as Viola Davis or Peter Dinklage:
- Tom Blyth as Coriolanus “Coryo” Snow
- Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird
- Josh Andres Rivera as Sejanus Plinth
- Hunter Schafer as Tigris Snow
- Jason Schwartzman as Lucretius “lucky” Flickerman
- Peter Dinklage as Casca Highbottom
- Viola Davis as Dra. Volumnia Gaul
- Burn Gorman as Commander Hoff
- Fionnula Flanagan as Grandma’am
- Ashley Liao as Clemensia Dovecote
- Isobel Jesper Jones as Mayfair Lipp
- Dakota Shapiro Billy Taupe
- Vaughan Reilly as Maude Ivory
- George Somner as Spruce
- Carl Spencer Smiley
- Scott Folan Beanpole
- Honor Gillies Barb Azure
- Eike Onyambu as Tam Amber
- Konstantin Taffet as Clerk Carmine
- Michael Greco and Daniela Grubert as Strabo Plinth and Mrs. Plinth
Release date of Ballad of songbirds and snakes
A Ballad of Songbirds and a Serpent will be released on November 17, 2023. There are still several months left to prepare for the film, although everything seems to indicate that it will become another great success of the franchise.
We don’t know when it will land on streaming platforms, but considering that the rest of the saga can be watched for free through HBO Max, it will most likely also land on the VOD service soon to be called simply Max.
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