Lionsgate is turning The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a prequel novel by Suzanne Collins, into a movie. This comes ten years after the first Hunger Games movie shook the globe. The film will once again be directed by Francis Lawrence and stars Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth.
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Although they won't be entering blind, fans who have read the source material should still be prepared for some surprises. It is to be hoped that The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes lives up to the critically praised franchise and its most recent trailer.
A Different Arena – The Capitol
The Capitol established the first Hunger Games to punish the districts’ uprising. Unlike the previous Games, the 10th anniversary introduced mentors, sponsorships, interviews, and animal mutations. At the time, there were also no “career packs,” and no one volunteered.
The 10th Games was the last time Panem used The Capitol Arena. Before the Games, a bombing exposed tunnels within the structure. Tributes implement more strategy rather than having to fight to the death Gladiator-style. The movie should depict a similar stadium. A dilapidated amphitheater with various nooks and crannies with clever uses of tunnels as shelter and hiding spaces.
A Deep Dive Into Coriolanus Snow
Coriolanus was the victor of the 5th Hunger Games and a mentor in the 10th Games before he turned into the villainous President Snow. One of the greatest, brightest, and most promising political personalities in the Capitol, 18-year-old Snow was chosen to counsel the District 12 tribute. He had been elected President of Panem by the 20th Games.
Snow wasn't always so ruthless. Despite his initial disinterest in her, he ends up falling "in love" and helping his student, Lucy Gray Baird survive. Although Snow wasn't really capable of having real romantic feelings, this prequel differs from the later Hunger Games in which he was callous.
Understanding Lucy Gray Baird, The Girl Who Got Away
Since she can’t use force to subdue opponents, Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) relies on strategy and wit to prevail during the Games. Baird attracts numerous sponsors who donate food and water because of her courage and tenacity in fighting for her life. She eventually outwitted and outlasted her adversaries.
Baird escapes Snow despite their developing "romance" when she was declared the 10th Games winner and returns to her home district. She should be more internally anxious in the movie while still putting on a brave face. It might be simpler to portray her rising gloom and unsure sentiments toward Snow in a film setting.
A Shift From Book to Big Screen
The Hunger Games made some changes from book to big screen, and like all novel-to-movie adaptations, some events, characters, and other minor-to-major details may need to be reworked or cut for the final script of TBSS. However, fans should expect TBSS to include the most essential and entertaining marks of its exciting yet brutal high-fantasy predecessors.
Thus, fans will likely witness the entire process of the 10th Hunger Games, including the reaping, arena, tributes, death, and victor, while building chemistry between Coriolanus Snow and Lucy Gray Baird. Perhaps the film will endeavor to make Snow a redeemable or empathetic pre-villain.
