The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, The Hunger Games prequel to the series, has cast five tributes and mentors. These new casts appear in the 10th Annual Hunger Games alongside District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird and her mentor, Coriolanus Snow. Snow will later become the President of Panem and the primary antagonist of The Hunger Games trilogy.
The new cast
Recent casting reveals that Tom Blyth has been cast as Coriolanus Snow, taking over the role from Donald Sutherland, who played the adult version in The Hunger Games movie trilogy. Rachel Zegler has been cast as Lucy Gray Baird.
In the latest casting announcement, Lionsgate declared that Jerome Lance, Ashley Laio, Knox Gibson, Mackenzie Lansing, and Aamer Husain will be joining Blyth and Zegler. Lance will play Marcus, a tribute from District 2; Liao will play Clemensia Dovecote, one of Coriolanus’s closest friends and mentor to a tribute from District 11; Knox Gibson will play Bobbin, a tribute from District 8; Lansing will play Coral, the female tribute from District 4; and Husain will play Felix Ravinstill, mentor to a tribute from District 11.
Most of the cast already announced are not particularly memorable tributes or mentors in the book. Only Clemensia Dovecote plays a more prominent role in the book. Two of the most important tributes aside from Lucy Gray Baird have yet to be announced including Jessup, her fellow District 12 tribute and ally, and Reaper, the first runner-up of the Games. It is possible that these characters simply have yet to be cast because they are more important to the book/movie.
Promotional video release
Just before the announcement of the latest casting, Lionsgate release a promotional video, formally announcing the return to the Games:
Lionsgate asks the viewer, “Who is a songbird and who is a snake?” The video reveals the promotional logo for The Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Spoiler alert, it is fairly obvious that Lucy Gray Baird is the songbird and Coriolanus Snow is the snake. At any rate, the release of a promotional video is definite confirmation that the movie is on the way!
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes the movie releases on November 17, 2023 exclusively in cinemas, directed by Francis Lawrence, the same director of The Hunger Games trilogy.
For more news about Suzanne Collins and her works, click here and stay tuned for more updates about The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes movie adaptation!