Everything you need to know about TBOSAS since the drop of the official trailer for the film’s November release.
If you haven’t already seen the hype on your TikTok for you page, you’ll never believe it but the New York Times Bestseller and blockbuster film franchise The Hunger Games is back. This time, with the prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
“Years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus 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, the female 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 Gray’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.” -Lionsgate
But let’s talk about what is new with this iteration as opposed to the original trilogy. The cast does not include the whole Katniss, Peeta, Gale, and them all–instead, we get a villain origin story with one of the most enticingly heinous villains of all, President Snow. But what truly makes a great villain is an even darker origin, and TBOSAS promises no less than a tragic and sinister upbringing for this callous man. And this year is a hunger games like no other, the 10th hunger games was the first to accelerate the torment of the districts by turning punishment into a public spectacle.
Featured Cast
Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird
Hunter Schafer as Tigris Snow
Parallels Between Original Series and Prequel
In The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, Katniss did not hesitate to show the Capitol that they didn’t own her. First, by shooting an arrow through an apple over the heads of the game makers, and secondly when she hung up a doll representing former Head Game maker Seneca Crane to show the game makers that just like herself, they are not indispensable either.
In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Lucy Gray strikes the nation by singing a familiar tune to the audience at her reaping, a show of great integrity in such a vulnerable circumstance. Both Katniss and Lucy Gray, who fans speculate are related, share the same final “F You” gesture to the Capitol when they take a bow after their small acts of rebellion.
The Geography of Panem is Confirmed!
At a recent The Hunger Games exhibition in Las Vegas, NV, the suspected map of Panem has been confirmed with just about everything from the politics to the climate situations in post-war America. Although fans speculate there is a lot we still don’t know, such as the situation of Panem versus the rest of the world, and what came even before the Dark Days and the rebellion. However, the exhibition provided pretty compelling evidence as to the justification of how Panem became so war-torn and totalitarian.
The release of the trailer in combination with the exhibition in Las Vegas and the brief moment where Netflix streamed the whole series, makes me think that this is the peak time to discuss the story and world that pretty much set the stage for dystopian teen dramas at the time. But honestly, the trailer and franchise release of tribute posters really takes the cake.
Make sure to watch the trailer for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes below:
