Based on The Hunger Games prequel novel by Suzanne Collins released in 2020, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be released in just a few months, more precisely on November 17th 2023. Here’s what we know about the movie so far.
What is The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes about?
18-year-old Coriolanus Snow, played by Tom Blyth, who would later go on to become the tyrannical President of Panem in the first trilogy, is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. This is many years before Snow would go on to become the person we’ve met in the movies so far.
The 10th annual Hunger Games are drawing ever closer, and the young Snow is frightened when he learns that he will be responsible for guiding Lucy Gray Baird, played by Rachel Zegler, who is the girl tribute representing the poor District 12. Yet following Lucy Gray’s rebellious performance at the reaping ceremony, which captured everyone’s attention in Panem, Snow begins to believe that he may be able to swing the odds in their favour and save their lives. As Snow and Lucy Gray fight against the clock to survive, they will have to combine their natural instincts for showmanship with their newly acquired political knowledge. This will eventually expose who among them is a songbird and who among them is a snake.
Book Reception of the Prequel
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes currently has a 3.83 on Goodreads and has its readers really torn between yay or nay. The synopsis reads: “It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capital, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.”
While some people felt “drained” while reading the book, others are starting their reviews with a word of caution to readers, despite them loving the story. User Monica Kim on Goodreads stated “a lot of people are not going to like this book. it’s weirder and maybe a little…goofier? than the original hunger games. it’s also much more philosophical – almost part novel part contemplation on nature vs nurture and the base instincts of humanity. and it is not a villain origin story like you’ve read before.”
We will have to wait and see if the movie is going to be as philosophical. Most people will expect there to be a lot of action as with the previous movies, so here is me hoping for the best.
If you’re wanting to catch up on the movies beforehand, all four Hunger Games movies are now on Netflix!
HAPPY HUNGER GAMES!
Thrilled to announce that all four Hunger Games films — The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay Part 1 and Part 2 — are now on Netflix US! pic.twitter.com/1lPZv45Z4Y
— Netflix (@netflix) March 1, 2023
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