(L to R) Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze in ‘Dirty Dancing’. Photo: Vestron Pictures.
Preview:
‘Hunger Games’ producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson have boarded the new ‘Dirty Dancing’ sequel.
The movie will be a direct continuation of the 1987 film.
Original star Jennifer Grey is aboard to appear in and also produce the movie.
Lionsgate is hoping to have the time of its life all over again.
While plans have been underway for a while now to a new, more official sequel to 1987 hit ‘Dirty Dancing’, the studio is adding the producing power of Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson, who together have shepherded the ‘Hunger Games’ franchise to screens. They’re joining Jennifer Grey, who starred in the original alongside Patrick Swayze and will appear in and produce the new one.
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The aim is to have the movie shooting this year, but doesn’t currently appear to have a director aboard, as the new Lionsgate statement about the sequel doesn’t mention one.
(L to R) Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in ‘Dirty Dancing’. Photo: Vestron Pictures.
We don’t yet know the exact story of the sequel –– though Grey’s return as Frances “Baby” Houseman, the character from the original suggests that we’ll see the story of a new young woman through her eyes.
(L to R) Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in ‘Dirty Dancing’. Photo: Vestron Pictures.
Here’s what Grey said in a new statement about returning to the world of ‘Dirty Dancing’:
“The role of Baby has held a very deep and meaningful place in my heart, as it has in the hearts of so many fans over the years. I’ve long wondered where we might find Baby years later and what her life might be like, but it’s taken time to assemble the kind of people that I felt could be entrusted to build on the legacy of the original film… and I’m excited to say that It looks like the wait will soon be over!”
(L to R) Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in ‘Dirty Dancing’. Photo: Vestron Pictures.
Other Movies and TV Shows in the ‘Dirty Dancing’ Franchise:
The movie is directed by Francis Lawrence, who also helmed ‘The Hunger Games’ films ‘Catching Fire’ and ‘Mockingjay’, parts one and two. ‘The Balland of Songbirds and Snakes’ premieres in theaters on November 17, 2023.
Here are 10 things we learned from the ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ virtual press conference:
1. The cast were huge fans of ‘The Hunger Games’ novels and movies prior to being cast
(L to R) Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird and Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close.
The cast elaborates on their love for the novels and movies and even dressed up as characters inspired by the franchise.
Rachel Zegler: I did read all of the books, and I saw all the movies as they came out, and it was a really lovely kind of bonding experience for my mom, my older sister and I, because we all read them together and watched them together and it was so wonderful.
Co-star Hunter Schafer talked about loving the costume designs described in the novels so much she created her own.
Hunter Schafer: I read the books in middle school and was deeply obsessed, and then saw the first movie and got obsessed with the costumes, and I made my own literal Capitol person costume for Halloween one year. I was drawing my own graphic novels of the book. It was a real deep obsession for a while, so it feels really full circle to be here now doing this.
2. Tom Blyth on stepping into Donald Sutherland’s shoes in portraying a young Coriolanus Snow
Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
Blyth, who has been a fan of the books and movies since its first release, elaborates on seeing Sutherland’s performance as President Snow and finding out his history in the prequel novel.
Tom Blyth: Watching what Donald Sutherland did with (Coriolanus Snow), that was kind of like, deliciously evil. Then getting to kind of rewind the history tapes and look at why he became like that, and also just question his morality and get to go through that up and down that he goes through in the book. Yeah, I mean it was an absolute dream for me as an actor.
The actor talks further about whether Sutherland’s performance had an impact on how he formed a younger version of the character:
Tom Blyth: Very early on, I kind of put that to the side and Francis and I talked about making it my own, and also just kind of asking what drives him now as opposed to what drives him later on when he is president and a dictator and a tyrant.
Blyth continues:
Tom Blyth: I think what the fans are drawn to as a character is seeing that he’s not just one thing, he ends up as a tyrant, but 64 years before that he was something else entirely. The interesting part is seeing what he goes through to get there. To your point, I think by the end, I wanted him to be more like the President Snow that we know. But at the beginning, he’s something completely different and younger.
3. Rachel Zegler finds similarities in Lucy Gray Baird and Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen
(L to R) Stanley Tucci and Jennifer Lawrence in “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” AP Photo/Lionsgate, Murray Close.
When asked whether Zegler took any lessons from Jennifer Lawrence’s performance of Katniss and applied them to her own, she says:
Rachel Zegler: I just think as actors watching Jennifer’s performance in the original trilogy is watching a masterclass performance in general. When it came to the approach of Lucy Gray, I kind of felt like I didn’t have to. I came to what Tom was saying, it kind of puts an unnecessary pressure because it’s a different character at a different time of Panem. I feel like Lucy Gray is a war-torn teenager who’s had everything she knows ripped from her, yet she’s still making the best of it.
The actress talks about Lucy Gray’s impact on Snow and how that haunts him later on in life when he encounters Katniss.
Rachel Zegler: I do think that there’s elements of Katniss within her and that makes it all the more fun to go back and watch the original trilogy and see how Coriolanus remains haunted by Lucy Gray even in his late life because there are echoes of her within Katniss Everdeen.
4. Tom Blyth and Josh Andrés Rivera were the first cast members to meet
A scene from ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
Rivera plays Sejanus Plinth, who viewed Coriolanus as a close friend. The actors were the first to meet among the cast and formed a bond that carried into their scenes.
Josh André Rivera: We had the real luxury of having that chemistry already be there a bit when we first had to film, because the first scene we shot actually was when Coryo has to rescue Sejanus in the arena, which, if you remember is quite vulnerable and intense, and to have that be your first day is a bit intimidating. It was definitely really nice that we had the luxury to get to know each other beforehand, because I think that manifested a good amount, personally.
Tom Blyth recounts how Rivera accidentally saved him from a potential peanut allergy.
Tom Blyth: One of the earliest scenes in the movie, which is the reaping day scene where all the students and mentors are gathered and then told that it’s the reaping day and that we’re being given mentees, basically. In the scene originally he was supposed to give me some cookies because he realizes that Coryo was hungry and that his family aren’t doing that well, even though they’re keeping up appearances. Josh, every time, went to give me the little packet of cookies and I’d put my hand out to reach them and it would feel really light, and I’d be like, okay, great, I’m supposed to eat them in the scene, and I’d go to open it and there’s no cookies left because Josh has been eating them on set.
5. Who is Tigris Snow?
Hunter Schafer as Tigris Snow in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close.
In ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’, we get to see a younger Tigris Snow. She’s a cousin of Coriolanus and is his main support when he is selected as a mentor for the 10th Hunger Games. The character of Tigris Snow can also be seen in ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2’, portrayed by Eugenie Bondurant.
Hunter Schafer: I distinctly remember her character in the books, and then seeing that character, because she was so striking in the ‘Mockingjay’ movie. But clearly there’s a pretty big jump from this movie to that Tigris, and I am kind of thankful for that because it allowed us to, in the same respect Tom was talking about, create our own take on this Tigris on a visual level and on a character level. It allowed so many of the literal layers of stuff that she has accumulated, by the time we meet her in Mockingjay, to let those fall away for this and kind of just bring a bit of myself into this Tigris, but also having the resource of the book, which is a blessing.
Schafer elaborates that Tigris’ love for fashion is similar to her own.
Hunter Schafer: I think I feel aligned with how she moves throughout the world and uses fashion as an armor, and I also just admire her values towards family and family first, and kind of operating on the fact that she’ll do anything for them.
(L to R) Josh Andrés Rivera as Sejanus Plinth and Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
Played by Josh Andrés Rivera, Sejanus Plinth and his family comes from District 2 and is a student at the Capitol Academy. He forms a close friendship with Coriolanus during the Reaping and the 10th Hunger Games.
Josh Andrés Rivera: Something I really like about him, and that definitely drew me in when we started filming, too, was the amount of friction he has with so many of the characters. Just as far as portraying something goes, that just tends to be the funner kind of thing to do is just having a lot of people disagree with you and try to convince everyone that you’re right. A lot of times, just as an actor, is really fun. His overall belief system and how that contrasted the world that he was in was really yummy.
7. Rachel Zegler sang live for every take during filming
(L to R) Honor Gillies as Barb Azure, Konstantin Taffet as Clerk Carmine and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close.
In the film, Zegler sings a hauntingly beautiful rendition of “The Hang Tree,” first heard in the 2014 film performed by Jennifer Lawrence. The actress talks about her decision to sing live for every take during filming.
Rachel Zegler: it was kind of my choice to sing live on set. I had done it before on my first film, and I feel really confident in that sphere of performance, in general. That was what I kind of came out of the womb doing on stage, so getting to do that for my peers and on set for my crew and the creative team was something really special that I felt like I could bring to the table. When you’re working on sets like that, or when you’re even watching movies, it kind of takes you out of the world when all of a sudden somebody starts lip-syncing, and it just kind of takes you out of it.
The actress felt it was important to the character of Lucy to sing live:
Rachel Zegler: I felt really blessed that Francis and Nina (Jacobson) trusted me to do that, and getting to bring that into the acoustics of the hob or the stage at the reaping and all of the other places, I don’t want to spoil that Lucy Gray gets to sing, it just adds a completely different tone to the scenes. I felt like it was really important, not only to me, but also to the character that I would be doing a disservice if I didn’t perform live every take. It was a lot, and it was very strenuous, but I trained to do it, and I felt really confident with the outcome, and I hope audiences do too.
8. The cast’s favorite costumes and set pieces from the movie
Viola Davis as Dr Volumnia Gaul in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close.
The Capitol of Panem has always been filled with dazzling and fascinating fashion. Costume designer Trish Summerville (‘Catching Fire’) returns for the prequel movie.
Rachel Zegler: I was definitely curious to see what Trish Summerville was going to do with the rainbow dress because, really, the only description it gets in the book is that there are pink, blue, and yellow ruffles, and that’s it. I was really wondering how she was going to bring it to life, and it was even better than I could have possibly imagined. I think it really speaks for itself, but then also with the rest of her costumes because the rest of her outfits really don’t get described too much in the book. I think Trish just took the Covey love color line and ran with it and in such a beautiful direction.
The cast also recounts seeing locations from the book brought to life by production designer Uli Hanisch.
Tom Blyth: The Hob as a location, for me, was just next level of direction. It was so well done. Actually, what I love about reading a book and then seeing a film adaptation is that sometimes it totally meets your expectations, and you’re like, oh yeah, that’s cathartic because it’s exactly what you had in your mind. Then sometimes your expectation is challenged, and you see something that you’re like, oh, that’s not what I thought at all, it’s even better, it’s even cooler.
9. What music did the cast listen to when getting into character?
(L to R) Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Courtesy of Lionsgate Films. Photo Credit: Murray Close.
Music plays a huge part in ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ The cast talks about what song or artists got them into character or in the right headspace for a scene.
Hunter Schafer: I think there was one scene where I had to get emotional, and “Sparks” by Coldplay always like…
Rachel Zegler: That does it?
Hunter Schafer: Yeah.
Blyth has several songs on his playlist depending on the scene:
Tom Blyth: I have a pretty extensive Coryo playlist. Music is a big way in for me. I think “Money Power Glory” by Lana Del Rey is the first song on the playlist, and then it goes to “Eleanor Rigby” by The Beatles because that song has always since I was a kid, just made me feel really kind of like kooky, and crazy, it feels unhinged, and so when he undergoes his transformation, that was a big one. Then all the way to Wagner’s “Flight Of The Valkyries” or whatever it’s called when he is feeling epic and royalty. I don’t know, it goes all over the place.
Josh Andrés Rivera: I listened to a lot of Silk Sonic. I don’t know that it got me into character, but I really liked that album.
10. The cast talk about what strategies or weapon they would bring into the Hunger Games if they were to complete
Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close.
Rachel Zegler: I feel like I’d have to go the route of Lucy Gray. We were just talking about this earlier, as you do, and I think I would have to win the affections of Panem and then hide and get a lot of sponsors so that I don’t die of hunger, but hide and wait everyone out.
Hunter Schafer: I’m going to go with camouflage because I have a little experience with paint, so I feel like I can go Peeta on them and be a rock or something.
Tom Blyth: I think I like in the movies, in the original franchise, when Peeta does the face paint. I like to think I could do that, but I definitely couldn’t, so I probably would rely on my climbing skills because I’m pretty good at climbing. So, I’d probably climb trees.
Josh Andrés Rivera: I would probably try to make friends with the strong boys and just see how far I can coast under their shoulders before they backstab me eventually. We will worry about that when we get there.
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What is the plot of ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’?
Years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), the female tribute from impoverished District 12. But, after Lucy Gray commands Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy Gray’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’?
Tom Blyth as (‘Billy the Kid‘) Coriolanus “Coryo” Snow
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Francis Lawrence and longtime ‘Hunger Games’ producer Nina Jacobson about their work on ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.’
The director and producer discussed their new movie, returning to Panem, the challenges of making a prequel, casting Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler, and how the film is really a musical!
(Left) ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’ director Francis Lawrence. (Right) ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’ producer Nina Jacobson.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews.
Moviefone: To begin with, Nina, at what point did you realize adapting Suzanne Collins ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ and exploring Coriolanus Snow’s history would be the next chapter of this film series?
Nina Jacobson: I did not know that until late 2019. We were all in the depths of Covid and I got a phone call from Suzanne saying, “Both Francis and I’ve got something I want you to read. It’s in the world of ‘The Hunger Games.’ It’s period, it’s 64 years before the rest of the books and movies. There’s one critical character who is a carryover character from the movies and books and there’s a lot of music in it.” So that’s what we knew coming into it. Of course, the question is when you sit down to read a book or watch a movie that is about a character who you already know you don’t like, you hate him, that is a real challenge. But what I found that she did so effectively was on the one hand, to show him in all his dimensions, he is not a Boy Scout by any stretch. He is a flawed, complex self-interested survivor on the one hand, and yet he is also not fully formed, and he is, I think, really turned upside down by the events of this story and a lot of his most essential core assumptions are upended. That to see how all of that ultimately shapes and shifts him to become the man that he will be, and to know that he’s going to get there and still find yourself rooting for him to somehow go another way in spite of your knowledge that he will not, and yet find it super satisfying when he finally does break bad was actually a very fun thing to get to work on as long as we could find an actor who could do all of that. Because it really does take an enormous amount of skill, nuance and subtlety. We were very, very fortunate when we finally saw Tom to see that there was a young actor who could do all of the things that he would need to do and still conjure up the belief that this could be a person who would grow up to be Donald Sutherland.
Director Francis Lawrence in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close.
MF: Francis, as a director what was it like for you to return to the world of ‘The Hunger Games,’ which you helped create on screen, and have a chance to explore Snow’s backstory with this prequel?
Francis Lawrence: I mean, it was super exciting. Look, we were surprised that Suzanne wrote another book. There were no plans. When we finished ‘The Mockingjay,’ she was moving on to other stuff. Then in 2019 she called us and said, “I’m almost done with the book.” Nina and I were shocked, excited, read it, and then I got more excited. I love villain origin stories and was super excited and up for the challenge, as well as rebuilding Panem in a way, in essence doing a period piece to the original films. So it was just all around exciting to come back.
A scene from ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
MF: Obviously, fans are familiar with the world of ‘The Hunger Games,’ but this is an earlier time-period in the story than audiences have seen before. Can you talk about creating a new tone for this prequel?
FL: It’s interesting. I didn’t instinctively decide for the tone to feel different. I think what ended up happening, which was kind of a pleasant discovery, was that there’s something about the rudimentary nature of this world, the technology and the Games, and the period of it all that grounded it in a different way. So, the other ones, being a little further in the future, there’s a more fantastical element to some of the wardrobe, to the arenas for sure, that it just brought a more fantastical element to the tone, where this feels much more authentic, grounded, and realistic. I think makes some moments more intense and maybe more jarring than the other films. I was really pleased with that, that it still feels like a ‘Hunger Games’ movie, but it has its own sort of unique twist, tonally, obviously narratively, but also in the world building.
(L to R) Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Courtesy of Lionsgate Films. Photo Credit: Murray Close.
MF: Francis, can you talk about casting Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler and why they were the right actors for these pivotal roles?
FL: Tom kind of came out of the blue for me. I was not familiar with his show (‘Billy the Kid’). He did a self-tape. He read for the part. His tape came in and I thought, “Wow.” Physically, I could see how he, with his big blue eyes, could kind of become Donald Sutherland, Snow, when he got older. But he’s super talented, Julliard trained, and great at his craft. I knew he’d be able to pull off all the facets we needed for the journey. But also, he’s a very intelligent guy, very sophisticated, and that was one of the extremely important elements, that if you are believably going to become Donald Sutherland, you must be intelligent and you must be sophisticated. He had that. Rachel, Lucy Gray’s a performer. We needed a singer, and we also needed a great actress and somebody that could play all the different sides and facets to Lisa Gray. She’s a bit of a mystery, a little mercurial, extroverted, a charmer and a performer. Rachel could do all of that.
(L to R) Honor Gillies as Barb Azure, Konstantin Taffet as Clerk Carmine and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close.
MF: Finally, the movie is a musical! Can you both talk about that and why the music is important to the story you are telling?
FL: I mean music, it’s funny, when Suzanne first told me that she was writing this book and almost done she didn’t want to tell me the story, but she did say there was a big music element to it, which intrigued me. I then discovered that Suzanne is a big fan of country music and had written a bunch of the lyrics for the songs in the movie. We worked with Dave Cobb, the Nashville producer- songwriter who wrote the chord progressions, melodies, and put this great little band together. We built this roster of songs that are based on songs that would’ve been in Appalachia in the ’20s and ’30s, sort of like circa the Carter Family, which is also a period of country music that I’m a huge fan of. But it’s that idea that those songs are stories and ballads that have been passed down from England, Ireland, Scotland, through generations and then turned into songs. So, you feel a time and a place and there’s kind of a haunting quality to a lot of these songs. But I thought everybody just did a great job. Rachel sings live on this whole thing, I will say.
(L to R) Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird, Luna Steeples as Dill, Cooper Dillon as Mizzen, Producer Nina Jacobson and Lucas Wilson as Panlo in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close.
NJ: It was a real opportunity for us because music has always been instrumental in these stories, whether it’s James Newton Howard‘s incredible scores, or the way that songs like ‘The Hanging Tree,’ the song that Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) remembers from Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), the song that Katniss sings to her sister and to Rue (Amandla Stenberg). Music has always been super important. However, we have never had a character who is a performer who’s going to get up on stage and sing, and that was a huge opportunity for us. Also, a huge source of, “Well, we better not blow that, or It’s going to really be a disaster if the second she starts to sing, people burst out laughing.” So, getting it to fit tonally, making sure that it felt grounded, that it felt deserved, that it felt like an earned musical moment, not a number, was a real challenge. We were really blessed to have both in Suzanne, an incredible student of music history and fan of early American music, the roots of folk, country, Americana, and then to find in Dave Cobb, somebody who shared those obsessions. They had an incredible meeting of the mind, and then the melodies that he created and the way that he took her lyrics brought them to life, and then the musicians that he chose to record with to bring these songs off the page. It was an incredible moment of discovery, excitement and emotion, seeing Rachel sing those songs on set because she chose to sing live virtually every time, which is incredibly unusual. It’s a real rarity for a person to want to sing live every take, and then to just destroy it every time and just leave you like a puddle on the floor. It was really something, and it was enormously fun to get to do. The songs would get to be really stuck in your head, and you’d have to go and do a long Spotify playlist if you wanted to shake the earworm, that was the only downside.
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What is the plot of ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’?
Years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), the female tribute from impoverished District 12. But, after Lucy Gray commands Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy Gray’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’?
Tom Blyth as (‘Billy the Kid’) Coriolanus “Coryo” Snow
(L to R) Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird and Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close.
Stars Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth are shown in character in what looks like a surprisingly relaxed moment for a ‘Hunger Games’ movie, which usually busy themselves with showing young people battling in a post-apocalyptic environment.
‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ is set 64 years before the story of Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen. In this throwback to an earlier era of the Hunger Games, the new narrative follows 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Blyth) long before he’s the cunning president of post-apocalyptic nation Panem.
Snow is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Zegler), the girl tribute from impoverished District 12.
But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird and a snake.”
Rachel Zegler to star as Lucy Gray Baird in Lionsgate’s ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo credit: Nathan Johnson.
It’s all adapted from ‘Hunger Games’ novelist Suzanne Collins’ 2020 prequel book, and the film, written by Michael Lesslie (working from initial drafts by Collins and Michael Arndt) does promise to be quite different from the other films – while still feeling of a piece.
“It’s completely different stylistically, in terms of design, character, and point of view,” producer Nina Jacobsontells Vanity Fair. “To be able to show a different side of Panem at a different time in its history has been really exciting.”
“This is very much a story about love,” Lawrence says. “It’s this kind of love story set in a different kind of a world in a different time. A very intimate love story.”
But fans of the original book trilogy and the four movies that it spawned won’t be let down in terms of callbacks.
“Suzanne has done such a great job of going back into the mythology and telling a story about the creation of the world,” adds Lawrence. “You get a little background of Katniss. You will obviously get a lot of the background of Snow, the history of the Games, the history of some of the music, where songs like ‘The Hanging Tree’ actually come from.”
Viola Davis Joins the cast of ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,’ which is scheduled for release in theaters on November 17th, 2023.
While Viola Davis is more usually seen as a heroic or good-hearted character, we have seen her channel a darker side in the past: ‘Suicide Squad’s Amanda Waller, for example. Or the crafty Annalise Keating on TV’s ‘How to Get Away with Murder’.
It’s that side of her performance that will be on display in the ‘Hunger Games’ prequel movie ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’. Davis has joined the in-production movie as Dr. Volumnia Gaul.
‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ is set years before the story of Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen. In this throwback to an earlier era of the Hunger Games, the new narrative follows 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) long before he’s the cunning president of post-apocalyptic nation Panem.
Snow is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), the girl tribute from impoverished District 12.
But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird and a snake.”
Rachel Zegler to star as Lucy Gray Baird in Lionsgate’s ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo credit: Nathan Johnson.
Dr. Gaul will serve as the main antagonist for the movie, a games-maker who designs the 10th annual games.
“The ‘Hunger Games’ films have always been elevated by their exceptional casting, and we are thrilled to be continuing that tradition with Viola Davis as Volumnia Gaul,” says Lionsgate motion picture group president Nathan Kahane. “Her formidable and powerful presence will add layers of complexity and menace to this story.”
“From the beginning, Viola has been our dream for Dr. Gaul because of the finely layered intelligence and emotion she brings to every role,” comments franchise producer Nina Jacobson. “A brilliant and eccentric strategist, Gaul is instrumental in shaping a young Coriolanus Snow into the man he will become. We are incredibly fortunate to have an actor with Viola’s extraordinary range and presence to play this pivotal role.”
“Dr. Gaul is as cruel as she is creative and as fearsome as she is formidable. Snow’s savvy as a political operator develops in no small part due to his experiences with her as the games’ most commanding figure,” enthuses Lawrence.
‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ is scheduled for release in theaters on November 17th, 2023.
‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ will be in theaters on November 17th, 2023.
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Rachel Zegler to star as Lucy Gray Baird in Lionsgate’s ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo credit: Nathan Johnson.
Originally confirmed as in the early stages of production last month as part of Lionsgate’s big CinemaCon presentation, the ‘Hunger Games’ prequel movie ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ is pushing ahead in locking down its lead cast. ‘Billy the Kid’s Tom Blyth was announced earlier this month as the younger version of Coriolanus Snow, the man who will go on to become the tyrannical President of Panem (and played by Donald Sutherland in the ‘Games’ movies).
Now we know who will star as the young tribute who impacts his life years before he ascends to command the county: ‘West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler.
Francis Lawrence, who directed three of the ‘Hunger Games’ movies based on Suzanne Collins’ bestselling book series, is back behind the camera for this new one, which has seen script work from Michael Arndt and, more recently, Michael Lesslie.
The story finds 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow as the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, the girl tribute from impoverished District 12.
But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.
(L to R) Ezra Menas, Ben Cook, Sean Harrison Jones, Mike Faist, Patrick Higgins, Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, David Alvarez, Julius Anthony Rubio, Ricardo Zayas, Josh Andrés Rivera, Sebastian Serra, and Carlos Sánchez Falú in ‘West Side Story’
“Like everybody, I first saw Rachel Zegler in ‘West Side Story’, and like everybody, I knew I was watching a star who would command the screen for a generation,” says Lawrence in a statement. “Lucy Gray is a perfect match for her as an actress: the character is bold, independent, and defiant, but also vulnerable, emotional, and loving. Rachel will make this character unforgettable.”
“When you read Suzanne’s book, Lucy Gray’s emotional intelligence, physical agility, and fiercely powerful, determined singing voice shine through. Rachel embodies all of those skills – she is the perfect choice for our Lucy Gray,” says Nathan Kahane, president, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group.
“Lucy Gray is an incredibly complex character, a performer who has to use every skill in her arsenal to survive. Our casting team, Deb Zane, and Dylan Jury, spearheaded an exhaustive search, reading hundreds of actors in search of our perfect Lucy Gray. That search ended when Rachel Zegler blew the roof off with her depth and breadth of talent as an actor, singer, and performer. Rachel is utterly compelling; just like Lucy Gray, her voice and charisma command the stage while her inner strength and humanity transform those around her,” says ‘Hunger Games’ producer Nina Jacobson.
Zegler herself recently teased her casting via a cryptic tweet that she has since explained.
— rachel zegler (she/her/hers) (@rachelzegler) May 31, 2022
‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ will be in theaters on November 17th, 2023. But before that, Zegler will be seen in DC superhero sequel ‘Shazam: Fury of the Gods’ (due out on December 21st this year) and Disney’s live action ‘Snow White’, which is still shooting and will arrive in 2023.
