The audience will soon return to the Capitol with Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbird and Snakes, featuring new faces ready to stand in the arena. The movie is helmed by returning franchise director Francis Lawrence and has a very familiar feel to it despite telling a new story following Tom Blyth as Coriolanus and Rachel Zegler as Lucy. The movie will take us back in time to focus on how President Snow became the ruthless man we know him to be.
As the release date nears, we are getting a better glimpse at the new world and its character with new images and trailers. In a similar vein, the makers have released the a new clip from the feature introducing Viola Davis as Dr. Volumnia Gaul and Peter Dinklage as Dean Casca Highbottom. The clip starts with Gaul addressing the “leaders of the next generation,” as we see Coriolanus listening to her rather uncomfortably. She then introduces Highbottom as the creator of Hunger Games, who takes a swift sip from his flask before he commences the 10th annual reaping ceremony.
‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ Features an Array of Interesting Characters
In the upcoming prequel, Blyth plays a younger version of Snow in a post-war Capitol struggling to keep the pride of his family name, and he’ll fall for his mentee Lucy (Zegler), the tribute from District 12 — only time will tell who turns out to be a songbird and who’s a snake. As for sinister game maker Dr. Gaul, Lawrence recently teased her character to be inspired by Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which is quite apparent in the new clip.
The feature has an ensemble cast that includes Hunter Schafer as Tigris Snow, Josh Andrés Rivera as Sejanus Plinth, Jason Schwartzman as Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman, Fionnula Flanagan as Grandma’am – Coriolanus and Tigris’ strict grandmother, along with Burn Gorman as Commander Hoff, and Ashley Liao as Clemensia Dovecote and more.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is scheduled for November 17 release worldwide. You can check out the new teaser below:
Viola Davis and Peter Dinklage star in the first clip from #TheHungerGames: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. pic.twitter.com/3GnieGgx5e
— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) October 26, 2023
The first four Hunger Games movies are currently available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.
via Collider