After nearly a decade, The Hunger Games franchise returns with the release of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. The film is based on the original trilogy and prequel book written by Suzanne Collins.
The first Hunger Games book was published in September of 2008 and the movie adaptation was released in March of 2012. The dystopian series follows Katniss Everdeen, a girl from district 12 who chooses to take her sister’s place in The 74th annual Hunger Games. Katniss has to fight for her life in “The Hunger Games” alongside the other district 12 tribute Peeta Mellark.
The sequel is called Catching Fire and precedes the final part of the franchise, Mockingjay. However, the series was so beloved that Suzanne Collins decided to write a prequel 10 years after the third book was released.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes was released in May 2020 and the movie adaptation has recently been released in November of 2023. The movie features actor Tom Blyth playing young Coriolanus Snow and actress Rachel Zegler who plays Lucy Gray Baird. The film also includes an impressive soundtrack and features a new Olivia Rodrigo song specifically made for the movie, called “Can’t Catch Me Now.”
The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes follows Lucy Gray Baird, a girl from district 12 who is picked to be in the 10th annual Hunger Games. Young Coriolanus Snow is her mentor for the games and he suggests ideas to the gamemakers to make the games more interesting.
The story continues to develop as future president Coriolanus Snow grows up more and gains his own opinions about the games. However, we already know his fate because of the original three Hunger Games films and seeing Coriolanus when he is older and the president.
The film skillfully captures the complexity of Snow’s character development, revealing the struggles he went through to mold him into the character he is in the original series.
If you’ve never seen the films before they are definitely worth watching, and it is recommended to read and watch them in the order of the year they were released. If you’ve been a fan since the beginning, you will love this prequel.
The movie has grossed over 336 million dollars worldwide in the box office. As fans flock to the theaters, It’s clear that The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes has successfully reignited a flame of Hunger Games fandom.