‘Hunger Games’ prequel film gets official title and release date

MANILA, Philippines – Welcome back, tributes! A prequel to the hit Hunger Games movie franchise has been confirmed.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is set to premiere on November 17, 2023.

Lionsgate announced the official title and release date on Thursday, April 28, during CinemaCon via a short video teaser. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the teaser started with the text, “You’re invited to return to the Games,” showing scenes of “icy tree branches and eye-catching gold,” and ended with the statement, “The world will discover…who is a songbird…and who is a snake.”

No film footage was presented, and no official cast announcement was made either. However, it’s been confirmed that Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will still be directed by original director Francis Lawrence. The prequel will be written by Catching Fire’s Michael Arndt and Hunger Games creator Suzanne Collins, and produced by Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, and Francis Lawrence.

The official synopsis of the prequel, which is set decades before Katniss Everdeen’s journey, reads, “In this return to The Hunger Games, years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow sees a chance for a change in fortunes when he is chosen to be a mentor to Lucy Gray Baird, the girl tribute from impoverished District 12,” during the 10th Hunger Games.

Scholastic released Collins’ prequel novel of the same name in May 2020.

The successful Hunger Games franchise of four films is based on Collins’ best-selling trilogy that includes the young adult dystopian novels, The Hunger Games (2008), Catching Fire (2009), and Mockingjay (2010). The films have collectively grossed over $3 billion globally so far, and starred Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Lenny Kravitz, and Donald Sutherland. – Rappler.com