*Potential spoilers for The Hunger Games books and movies below.
When The Hunger Games prequel novel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, was released in 2020 it was a given that it would be made into a movie adaptation. Filming for the movie took place last year and the highly anticipated trailer made its way onto the internet this past week after being previewed by fans at CinemaCon. Here are five things to look forward to in this new installment of The Hunger Games franchise.
The music
If you were a fan back when the movies were coming out, you know how popular “The Hanging Tree” sung by Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) was. In Ballad, music is even more prevalent, with the District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) coming from a singing group called the Covey and having several key musical moments.
The characters
A trio makes up the prequel similarly to the original books and movies that had Katniss, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), and Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth). In addition to Lucy Gray, Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) and Sejanus Plinth (Josh Andrés Rivera) have some qualities that mirror their future counterparts, but ultimately their story is entirely different with it being set during the tenth Hunger Games. Other members of the cast, such as Dr. Gaul (Viola Davis) and a familiar character from Mockingjay, Tigris (Hunter Schafer), will also be fascinating to watch on screen.
The relationship between Coriolanus and Lucy Gray
The book The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes does feature a romance subplot, but for those who have read it, you probably know it is hard to describe it as such. Coriolanus and Lucy Gray’s relationship is not one to aspire for, but it is bound to be intriguing to see unfold.
The Games
There is a reason why The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is often cited as the best film in the franchise. Despite the horror of the idea, the Games aspect of the series is entertaining to watch for audiences and it so happens that it makes up a lot of the prequel’s storyline.
The references to the original trilogy
Based on the trailer that already showcased a reference to the first movie with a Katniss esque bow from Lucy Gray, there will be plenty of nods to the well loved books and movies to come. It will be nice to see District 12 and the Capitol again after all these years.
With promo just beginning for the prequel, there is much to foresee in the near future. If the movie is anything like the others in the franchise, it will be an amazing watch.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes arrives in theaters November 17.