Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Release Date, Cast | IndieWire
May the odds be in our favor when the long-awaited prequel to “The Hunger Games” opens in theaters.
Based on Suzanne Collins’ novel “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Serpents,” the prequel film will reveal the origin story behind the world of the viral “Hunger Games” series, starring Jennifer lawrence, liam hemsworth, and josh hutcherson in a love triangle at the origin of the post-apocalyptic tournament of life and death composed of teenage tributes.
Director Francis Lawrence returns to the franchise to helm “The Ballad of Songbirds and Serpents,” featuring a new crop of tributes. Screenwriter Michael Lesslie (“Assassin’s Creed”) writes the script. The origin story of Panem President Coriolanus Snow, played by Donald Sutherland in the original films, is also revealed, with “The Golden Age” breakout star Tom Blyth as the young Coriolanus. Rachel Zegler stars in the title role. the film will be released in theaters on November 17, 2023.
Find out all the details on “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Serpents” below.
what is the plot?
“The Ballad of Songbirds and Serpents” is set during the 10th annual Hunger Games. An 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) is selected to mentor District 12’s tribute to Lucy Gray Baird, played by “West Side Story” and “Snow White” star Rachel Zegler.
coriolanus is the “last hope for his fading bloodline, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war capitol,” according to an official synopsis from lionsgate. “But after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by singing defiantly during the harvest ceremony, Snow thinks she could turn the odds in his favor. Uniting their instincts for show business and their newfound political acumen, Snow and Lucy’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird and who is a snake.”
meet the cast
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tom blyth, actor of “billy the kid” and “the gilded age”, will play the younger version of donald sutherland’s iconic ruler, coriolanus snow. Blyth also recently starred in Terrence Davies’ Siegfried Sassoon biopic “Blessing” as World War I-era actor and stage manager Glen Byam Shaw.
after being selected by steven spielberg and making her film debut in the oscar-winning film “west side story”, rachel zegler will appear in “shazam! fury of the gods”, “snow white” and animated feature “bewitched”. Zegler will play the mysterious newcomer Lucy Gray Baird, who will fight for her life in The Hunger Games.
sipa uses via ap
Josh Andres Rivera, Zegler’s “West Side Story” co-star, will play Coriolanus’ friend Sejanus Plinth. Schafer, the rising star hunter from “euphoria”, has been cast as tigris, the cousin and confidant of coriolanus, who is a hairstylist at the capitol. Eugenie Bondurant played Tigris in the original franchise, with “The Ballad of Songbirds and Serpents” revealing Tigris’ family connection to Coriolanus.
these tributes (and mentors) are thirsty for blood
Jerome Lance plays Marcus, Lucy’s fellow tribute from District 12. Ashley Liao plays Clemensia Dovecote, one of Coriolanus’s closest friends and a mentor to a tribute from District 11. Aamer Husain plays Felix Ravinstill, another District 11 Tribute Mentor. Knox Gibson will be Bobbin, a District 8 Tribute, while “Mare of Easttown” alum Mackenzie Lansing will be Coral, a District 4 Tribute.
Additional cast members include Max Raphael as Festus Creed, a mentor to a District 4 tribute. Zoe Renee, fresh from the Sundance Award-winning “Master,” plays Lysistrata Vickers, a mentor to a District 12 tribute. ayomide adegun will play pliny “pup” harrington, mentor to a district 7 tribute kaitlyn akinpelumi will play domita whimsiwick, mentor to a district 10 tribute ukrainian actress and advocate sofia sanchez will play district 8 tribute wovey, with amélie hoeferle as vipsania hoz, mentor to the district 7 tribute.
irene boehm will play lamina, a district 7 tribute. cooper dillon is mizzen, a district 4 tribute. luna kuse will play brandy, a district 10 tribute. kjell brutscheidt will play another district 10 tribute named tanner. Dimitri Abold is Reaper, a tribute from District 11.
athena strates will play persephone price, mizzen mentor from district 4. dakota shapiro will play billy taupe, a member of the gang. George Somner will play Spruce from District 12, and Vaughan Reilly is Maude Ivory, another member of the flock.
Tony Award nominee Fionnula Flanagan is confirmed to play Grandma’am, the grandmother of Tom Blyth’s Coriolanus Snow. “The Dark Knight Rises” actor Burn Gorman will play Commander Hoff.
isobel jesper jones will play mayfair lipp, the daughter of the mayor of district 12. flora li thiemann is a mentor to a tribute from district 1; Honor Gillies, Eike Onyambu, Konstantin Taffet, Burn Gorman, Scott Folan, Carl Spencer, Michael Greco, and Daniel Grubert round out the cast.
jason schartzman is the master of ceremonies
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jason schwartzman was officially confirmed to play lucretius “lucky” flickerman, the host of the 10th hunger games and ancestor of caesar flickerman, who would become the voice of panem and is played by stanley tucci in the films Hunger Games originals. .
peter dinklage is the founder of the hunger games
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“Game of Thrones” alum Peter Dinklage will play Casca Highbottom, dean of the academy and founder of The Hunger Games. Dubbed a “character with secrets,” director Francis Lawrence teased that Casca (Dinklage) is the mentor of a young Coriolanus Snow, played by Tom Blyth.
“dean highbottom is one of the most powerful people in snow’s life,” lawrence said. “As the austere and vengeful face of the games, he sets the rules that will determine all aspects of Coriolanus’ fate. I’m delighted to have Peter bring him to life.”
Oscar winner Viola Davis is a villain video game creator
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Academy Award winner Viola Davis will play Dr. Volumnia Gaul, the lead creator of the 10th annual Hunger Games, can confirm indiewire. The “Woman King” actress will be “as cruel as she is creative and as fearsome as she is formidable,” according to director Francis Lawrence.
dr. Gaul’s mentor relationship with future ruler Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) is based on her being “the most dominant figure in the games.”
producer nina jacobson shared, “from the beginning, the viola has been our dream for dr. galia because of the finely layered intelligence and emotion she brings to each role. A brilliant and eccentric strategist, Gaul is instrumental in turning a young Coriolanus Snow into the man he will become. we are incredibly fortunate to have an actor with the extraordinary range and presence of the viola to play this pivotal role.”
release date
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“The Ballad of Songbirds and Serpents” will open in Lionsgate Cinemas on November 17, 2023.
A trailer for the film featuring snow-covered branches, icy snakes, and golden songbirds (a mockingjay, perhaps?) was released in June 2022.
“You’re invited to return to gaming in 2023,” the clip joked. “The world will find out who is a songbird and who is a snake.”
first look
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rachel zegler and tom blyth transform into their respective roles for a teaser photo that hints at the love story between tribute lucy (zegler) and mentor coriolanus (blyth).
lucy will be the “anti-katniss”
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The heroine Lucy played by Rachel Zegler, a tribute for District 12, will look nothing like Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss in the original film series. Nina Jacobson, producer of “Ballad of Songbirds and Serpents,” told Vanity Fair that Lucy (Zegler) is the “anti-Katniss” as an outgoing leading lady who charms mentor and future dictator Panem Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth). /p>
“She’s a musician, she’s a performer, she’s charming,” Jacobson explained. “snow has never met a girl like this before. he’s a shapeshifter who craves control, but he’s drawn to a woman who threatens everything he thought she wanted.”
However, fans can look forward to a glimpse of Katniss’ own story in the prequel, based on the novel by Suzanne Collins.
“suzanne has done a great job going back to mythology and telling a story about the creation of the world,” said lawrence. “you get a bit of katniss history. obviously you’ll get a lot from the background of the snow, the history of the games, the history of part of the music, where songs like “the hanging tree” come from. being able to show a different side of panem at a different time in its history has been really exciting. it’s completely different stylistically, in terms of design, character and point of view.”
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