a b Lang, Brent (August 8, 2017). "Lionsgate Chief Says 'Hunger Games,' 'Twilight' Have 'More Stories to Tell' ". Variety. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018 . Retrieved July 31, 2021. In a recent interview with Empire, Lawrence spoke about the ongoing relevancy of the Hunger Games movies, all of which (including this latest one) are adapted from Suzanne Collins' novels. Aamer Husain as Felix Ravinstill: A classmate of Snow, and mentor to a tribute from District 11. [6] Hayes, Dade; D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 5, 2021). " 'Hunger Games' Prequel To Start Production In First Half Of 2022, Lionsgate Film Boss Joe Drake Says". Deadline . Retrieved August 6, 2021. At first all is idyllic, with Coriolanus training during the week and spending Saturday nights at The Hob (the local market and gathering space) watching Lucy Gray and her Covey bandmates perform country ballads for the locals. The two become entwined in each other’s lives and begin to ponder a future together.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a YA prequel novel to the dystopian fictional world of the The Hunger Games trilogy written by American author Suzanne Collins. Its premise is set 64 years prior to the events explored in the first book of the trilogy, 2008's bestselling The Hunger Games. The prequel is stylistically written in the third-person point of view, diverging from the original books of the series which are told using the first-person point of view of protagonist Katniss Everdeen. The cover art and title was announced by Scholastic at New York Comic Con on October 4, 2019. The cover art for the novel was designed by Tim O'Brien. Lucy Gray Baird - The mentee of Coriolanus Snow. The female tribute from District 12. She is talented singer and part of a group known as the Covey. She makes a dramatic entrance into the Hunger Games and Coriolanus Snow finds himself falling head over heels for her. She is District 12’s very first victor. She falls in love with “Coryo” but upon finding out who he really is, she attempts to run away, setting a trap for him. Lucy Gray’s ending mirrors the poem by William Wordsworth for which she was named, presumably intentionally by Suzanne Collins. Wang, Jessica (November 3, 2023). " Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes director considered splitting the movie into two parts". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 3, 2023 . Retrieved November 3, 2023. Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird: The female tribute from District 12 who forms a connection with Coriolanus, and a member of the Covey, a travelling musician group.biggest complaint and what kept this from 5 stars for me: the pacing is a little off. about 75% in, the novel seems to lose a lot of it’s bite and just sort of meanders (until the end, which is definitely explosive). Possibly a commentary on indifference to national unity in the Capitol: anthems being symbolic of nationhood. Lang, Brent (August 8, 2017). "Lionsgate Chief Says 'Hunger Games,' 'Twilight' Have 'More Stories to Tell' ". Variety . Retrieved January 30, 2018.

Viola Davis as Dr. Volumnia Gaul: The head gamemaker of the 10th Hunger Games and the person who first implemented them. Canfield, David (May 12, 2020). Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: Listen to the first 11 minutes of the Hunger Games prequel. Retrieved on May 12, 2020. Bamigboye, Baz; Tartaglione, Nancy (November 9, 2023). " 'The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes' World Premieres As Team Optimistic For More Sequels". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023 . Retrieved November 10, 2023. Lilly Cooper as Arachne Crane: A classmate of Snow, and a mentor to a tribute from District 10. [8] Coriolanus Snow is played by British actor Tom Blyth who receivedpositive notices for his role in the late Terence Davies' wartime drama Benediction.

What is the story of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes?

In August 2021, Lionsgate chairman Joe Drake revealed that the film was in pre-production with filming expected to begin in early 2022 for a targeted release of "either late fiscal 2023 or early 2024." [14] On April 28, 2022, it was announced that the film will release on November 17, 2023. [15] Now I can reread The Hunger Games trilogy with new eyes, understanding the underpinnings of that horror show better. Nina Jacobson: Well, I think for us it was like making a period movie and trying to imagine sort of the history of the Capitol, taking into account you're 10 years from the war, people were rebuilding. And we used a lot of references from reconstructionist Germany. We had amazing practical locations that we were able to use that really set the stage, but we also wanted it to feel recognizable. You wanted people to know that this is a world they know, but they're just seeing it before some of the detail has been filled in.

It doesn't seem likely that a second novel will follow. Unlike The Hunger Games, Collins doesn't seem to have plotted out further installments. The ending epilogue feels final. Though there are characters whose stories are worth further exploration, the story of this book, and Coriolanus Snow's path to power, feels complete by the novel's end. Screen Rant: First, I would love to hear what you think the biggest challenges were that came with making a prequel that's set in a preexisting universe. Barnes and Noble - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes exclusive edition. Retrieved on January 31, 2020.D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 17, 2019). " 'Hunger Games' Prequel Novel From Suzanne Collins Coming In 2020, Lionsgate In Talks For Movie". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020 . Retrieved July 31, 2021. Return to Panem this November in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Discover what happened in the years before Katniss Everdeen brought the annual killing contest to its knees as we discover the origin story of the dreaded President Coriolanus Snow. There are failures of every type in this novel. Snow's evolution is convoluted, drawn out, poorly paced, and entirely too much time is spent on lingering on his sob stories of poverty, school demerits and cabbage soup. His inner world is neither explained well nor is it interesting. This is not a successful villain origin tale. You will never convince me that it is. Too many new characters are introduced, but none of them are memorable. There is not one person of Haymitch's caliber, or Cinna’s, or Effie's. There is an attempt to show the dawn and messiness of the early Hunger Games, with all the gore and DYI-horror, but it's diluted by the wrong perspective, weird Capitol apologia and a BIG BAD, super-boring first game maker villain. There is a romance that it totally unbelievable and an incomprehensible joke. Nina Jacobson: I think that Suzanne was very interesting in this book, exploring sort of the allure of authoritarianism, what draws people towards that kind of power. And also how we feel about each other, whether we trust or distrust each other when we are polarizing each other, how that fuels the pull towards extremism, towards authoritarianism. Cast: Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman, Rachel Zegler, Josh Andrés Rivera, Tom Blyth, Hunter Schafer