Photo: Charles Chaisson/Scholastic; Murray Close/Lionsgate
Are you ready for The Hunger Games prequel?
Thanks to an exclusive report from Deadline, the official roles for the cast of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes have been revealed. Tom Blyth is already confirmed to play young Coriolanus Snow, which originally saw Donald Sutherland in The Hunger Games role. Opposite of young Coriolanus Snow will be Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird, the girl tribute from District 12 that Snow is assigned to mentor. Francis Lawrence – who directed The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Mockingjay Part I and Part II – will helm the upcoming prequel.
In addition to the name cast members above, Jerome Lance comes in as Marcus, a tribute from District 2. Ashley Liao will play Clemencia Dovecote’s role. She’s one of Coriolanus’s closest friends and will be a mentor for a tribute in District 11. Knox Gibson and Mackenzie Lansing are Bobbin and Coral, tributes from Districts 8 and 4. Aamer Husain is also confirmed as Felix Ravinstill, another mentor for a tribute in District 11. Some of the more famous names in the cast are also confirmed for their select roles. Jason Schwartzman will play the 10th Hunger Games host, Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman. Primetime Emmy-winning actor Peter Dinklage is Casca Highbottom, the Dea of the Academy and the creator of the Hunger Games. Lastly, Academy Award Winner Viola Davis will be Head Gamemaker Volumnia Gaul. She’s noted as the political operator ensuring that the Hunger Games go as planned.
Credit: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The prequel will focus on Coriolanus Snow years before he gains power as President of Panem. It documents him trying to restore his fading lineage, which cracked in the post-war Capitol. Snow is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, but the defiant young woman fights against the Hunger Games rules. With all the heat on Snow and Baird, they must use their showmanship and political savviness to survive a game that will reveal the songbird and snake. The novel was written by Suzanne Collins and released on May 19, 2020. Given that the original franchise collected over a billion at the box office, it’s no surprise that Lionsgate took the opportunity to revisit one of their more popular intellectual properties.
The first Hunger Games book came out in 2008. To recall, the original series followed Katniss Everdeen after she volunteered for the dangerous battle royale in place of her sister. The 16-year-old becomes one of the rebellions that fight back against the wealthy Capitol. The franchise spawned four feature films and is one of the prime reasons young adult novels became such a hot commodity during its release. Since then, the young adult novel craze has considerably died down in the world of movies, though book adaptations continue to prove successful on the big screen. For better or worse, the 50 Shades of Gray series made a ton of money at the box office. The recent 365 Days films – essentially elevated pornhub material – continue to be a popular material for Netflix. The two films don’t have the same demographic as The Hunger Games, but the point was to emphasize how to book adaptations remain successful in media and entertainment. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be released on November 17, 2023.
Credit: Murray Close
The exciting part of this is that weekend is stacked with big movies. First, Dune: Part Two is scheduled for that Friday as well. Part One was a critical and financial success, with the Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya features garnering $400 million worldwide. Of course, its box office numbers were undercut because of the pandemic and HBO Max’s day-to-day release. The film follows Paul Atreides, who must travel to the universe’s most dangerous planet to ensure his family’s safety. Unfortunately, politics and evil forces interfere with the planet’s exclusive supply, and only those who can conquer their own fear will survive. The next film is the Trolls 3 Movie; though the second film went straight to VOD platforms, it still made over $100 million in rentals. The film is a nice counterbalance to the adult features that heavily cloud November 17th. The fourth feature set for that weekend is Imaginary Friends, starring Ryan Reynolds and John Krasinski. The former has proven to be a box office draw since his solo outing as Wade Wilson in Deadpool. The actor has pulled in three movies that made over $150 million worldwide since, with his most recent being Free Guy, the surprise hit that made $331 million worldwide. Krasinski has also made a name for himself, thanks to The Quiet Place franchise. It should be interesting to see how modern audiences take to the latest Hunger Games feature.
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