Do you want to play a game with Viola Davis? Lionsgate certainly hopes so because The Woman King and The Suicide Squad actor is joining the cast of the Hunger Games prequel. Lionsgate announced today that Academy Award winner Viola Davis would star as Head Gamemaker Dr. Volumnia Gaul in The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
The highly-anticipated Hunger Games prequel comes to theaters on November 17, 2023. The story takes place years before a young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blythe) became Panem’s authoritarian President. 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), the girl tribute from impoverished District 12. But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird and who is a snake. Dun dun dunnn!
Speaking about Davis’ casting, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group president, Nathan Kahane, said, “The Hunger Games films have always been elevated by their exceptional casting, and we are thrilled to be continuing that tradition with Viola Davis as Volumnia Gaul. Her formidable and powerful presence will add layers of complexity and menace to this story.”
Francis Lawrence, who directs the Hunger Games prequel, added, “Dr. Gaul is as cruel as she is creative and as fearsome as she is formidable. Snow’s savvy as a political operator develops in no small part due to his experiences with her as the games’ most commanding figure.”
Finally, producer Nina Jacobson said, “From the beginning, Viola has been our dream for Dr. Gaul because of the finely layered intelligence and emotion she brings to every role. A brilliant and eccentric strategist, Gaul is instrumental in shaping a young Coriolanus Snow into the man he will become. We are incredibly fortunate to have an actor with Viola’s extraordinary range and presence to play this pivotal role.”
The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes cast was already stacked, and now they’re adding Davis to the mix? Hot damn! I’m interested in seeing her play another menacing role besides Suicide Squad‘s Amanda Waller and know she will kill it. I was on the fence about the Hunger Games prequel, but now I’m genuinely intrigued. How about you? Are you looking forward to The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes? Does Davis being added to the mix change anything for you? Let us know in the comments.