Big news, Hunger Games fans: the prequel to the wildly successful franchise is officially set to begin production in 2022.
The upcoming film, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, based on author Suzanne Collins’ 2020 novel of the same name, is slated to be released in late 2023 or early 2024.
As reported by Deadline, Lionsgate motion picture group chairman Joe Drake revealed during a quarterly earnings call that pre-production for the movie is “moving along really, really well.”
“There’s an audience that wants to come back [to theatres]” Drake said, “I believe the market’s going to come back…there’s going to be a strong, robust platform for us to monetise our movies.”
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes serves as a prequel to the original Hunger Games series, taking place around 64 years prior to the events of the first book in the trilogy.
According to a synopsis, the film will focus on a teenage Coriolanus Snow, who eventually went on to become the “tyrannical” President of the dystopian nation of Panem and the main villain of The Hunger Games.
“Young Coriolanus is handsome and charming, and though the Snow family has fallen on hard times, he sees a chance for a change in his fortunes when he is chosen to be a mentor for the Tenth Hunger Games… only to have his elation dashed when he is assigned to mentor the girl tribute from impoverished District 12,” the synopsis reads.
Although the character of Coriolanus was portrayed by Donald Sutherland across the first four films, it is not yet known which actor will play the younger version of him.
According to a 2020 report by Entertainment Weekly, Francis Lawrence, who directed three of the first four films —The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and parts 1 and 2 of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — is likely to return for the prequel
Meanwhile, Collins will serve as its executive producer on The Ballad, and adapt the screenplay with Catching Fire screenwriter Michael Arndt.
Although few details are known about the film yet, it’s already safe to say it has a lot to live up to, given that the first four on-screen adaptations grossed close to USD $3 billion worldwide.
For more on this topic, follow the Film & TV Observer.
Check out a clip from the first Hunger Games film:
