Yahoo Movies The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: Hunger Games prequel release date, cast, plot, trailer and everything you need to know
A decade after the last instalment of The Hunger Games trilogy hit the bookshelves, and five years after the movies hit cinemas, Suzanne Collins took us back to Panem with her 2020 novel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Set 64 years before the events of the first book, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes follows an 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow, who's tasked with mentoring District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird for the 10th annual Hunger Games.
Snow finds himself working with Lucy in order to ensure that she wins the games and, in turn, he secures the distinguished future he so desperately desires.
Much to the delight of fans, the movie adaption was given the green light before the book was even released. And with that, our Hunger Games obsessions reignited.
Here's everything you need to know about the upcoming prequel movie.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes release date: When is it out?
Lionsgate confirmed at CinemaCon last year that The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will hit the big screen on November 17, 2023.
The release window lines up with the final three Hunger Games movies — Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part 1 and Mockingjay Part 2 — which were released in November of 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes cast: Who's in it?
The Gilded Age's Tom Blythe takes the lead as 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow, who director Francis Lawrence has described as "a survivor, a loyal friend, a cutthroat, a kid quick to fall in love, and a young man ambitious to his core".
Speaking about Blythe's performance as the future President of Panem, Lawrence noted: "Tom's take on the character showed us all the complex ambiguities of this young man as he transforms into the tyrant he would become."
West Side Story and Shazam! Fury of the Gods star Rachel Zegler will play District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird, who plays a significant role in the events after she defiantly sings during the reaping ceremony.
"Like everybody, I first saw Rachel Zegler in West Side Story, and like everybody, I knew I was watching a star who would command the screen for a generation," Lawrence said.
"Lucy Gray is a perfect match for her as an actress: The character is bold, independent and defiant, but also vulnerable, emotional and loving. Rachel will make this character unforgettable."
Zegler's West Side Story co-star (and real-life boyfriend) Josh Andrés Rivera has joined the cast as Sejanus Plinth, a District Two mentor and close friend of Snow.
The movie's star power continues to grow with the casting of Viola Davis as Dr Voluminia Gaul, Head Gamemaker. Wes Bentley's Seneca Crane and Phillip Seymour Hoffman's Plutarch Heavensbee each served as Head Gamemaker in the original movies.
According to Lawrence, Dr Gaul is "as cruel as she is creative, and as fearsome as she is formidable".
Euphoria's Hunter Schafer will be playing Tigris Snow, the cousin and confidante of Coriolanus Snow.
Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage has been cast Casca Highbottom, the Dean of the Academy and the unintentional creator of the Hunger Games.
"Dean Highbottom is one of the most powerful people in Snow's life. As the austere and vindictive face of the games, he sets the rules that will determine every aspect of Coriolanus's fate. I'm thrilled that Peter will be bringing him to life," said Lawrence.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse actor Jason Schwartzman is set to play Lucretius 'Lucky' Flickerman, the host of the 10th Hunger Games and ancestor to Caesar Flickerman, who was played by Stanley Tucci in the Hunger Games franchise.
Russian Doll's Vaughan Reilly and newcomers Irene Boehm, Cooper Dillon, Luna Kuse, Kjell Brutscheidt, Dimitri Abold, Athena Strates, Dakota Shapiro and George Somner will all play members of the Covey, a group of Panem nomads famous for their musical talent.
Other cast members include Fionnula Flanagan as Snow's grandmother, Flora Li Thiemenn (Tigermilk) as one of the tribute's mentors and Isobel Jesper Jones (The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself) as the daughter of District 12's mayor.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes plot: What's it about?
The official synopsis for Songbirds & Snakes reads: "Years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, 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, 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 favour.
"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."
Further weighing in on what fans can expect to see from the highly-anticipated film, producer Nina Jacobson previously teased: "This is the 10th Hunger Games as opposed to Catching Fire's 75th.
"I think that the Hunger Games are considerably less glitzy than they ultimately become, so I think there's a lot of fun in that in seeing what they used to be. I think that seeing a Capitol character with a point of view that takes you through a good part of the story is something we've never really done."
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes trailer: Any footage yet?
The official trailer is yet to drop (you can find it here when it does, though), but you can watch the first teaser trailer above.
In the footage, we see a frost-covered songbird and snake high in the trees before they break free of the ice and turn into gold.
"You're invited to return to the game in 2023," reads the text. "The world will discover who is a songbird... and who is a snake."
Let the games begin.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be released in cinemas on November 17, 2023. The previous Hunger Games movies are available to stream on Prime Video UK.
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