Welcome one and all to a new installment in The Hunger Games franchise. The newest trailer for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes debuts online for the world to see. The prequel stars Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow, Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird, Viola Davis as Dr. Volumnia Gaul, Peter Dinklage as Casca Highbottom, Jason Schwartzman as Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman, Hunter Schafer as Tigris Snow, and Josh Andrés Rivera as Sejanus Plinth.
The official synopsis from Lionsgate reads,
“Experience the story of THE HUNGER GAMES — 64 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered as tribute, and decades before Coriolanus Snow became the tyrannical President of Panem.
THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES follows a young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) who is the last hope for his failing lineage, the once-proud Snow family that has fallen from grace in a post- war Capitol. With his livelihood threatened, Snow is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from the impoverished District 12. But after Lucy Gray’s charm captivates the audience of Panem, Snow sees an opportunity to shift their fates. With everything he has worked for hanging in the balance, Snow unites with Lucy Gray to turn the odds in their favor. Battling his instincts for both good and evil, Snow sets out on a race against time to survive and reveal if he will ultimately become a songbird or a snake.”
Francis Lawrence returns to direct this entry. The movie is based on the book of the same name by Suzanne Collins with the screenplay being penned by scribes, Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt. Producers on the film include Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson and director Francis Lawrence.
The director had excitedly talked about the state of Panem during this era. Being a prequel, the dystopia will look much different. The world will still be feeling the fallout of the “dark days” which the Hunger Games had spawned from, but it will be a new version of it with a different look, including architecture and interior design and still reflect the fractured spirit of the film’s world and characters.