With “The Hunger Games: A Song of Birds and Snakes” we dive into the world of the Hunger Games for the fifth time on the big screen. Katniss, played by Jennifer Lawrence, is not the focus of the new adventure. Instead, a prequel awaits us here, which shows the tenth Hunger Games. These took place 64 years before Katniss Everdeen, whose first Hunger Games is the event’s 74th running. In the case of “The Song of Birds and Snakes”, the hunger games have not developed that far.
Coriolanus Snow, who will be president (Donald Sutherland) of Panem in the time of Katniss, is still a young man (Tom Blyth) in the prequel whose once wealthy family has fallen to pieces. As an orphan, he lives in poverty with his grandmother and his cousin Tigris (Hunter Schafer). As a mentor to District 12’s female tribute, Lucy Gracy Baird (Rachel Zegler), he hopes for social advancement. But as the game progresses, Snow and Lucy develop feelings for each other.
The Hunger Games: A Song of the Bird and the Snake opens in theaters November 16.
These are the names in front of and behind the camera
In addition to Tom Blyth (“The Gilded Age”), Rachel Zegler (“West Side Story”) and Hunter Schafer (“Euphoria”), there are a number of other high-profile names in the cast. Josh Andrés Rivera (“Cat Person”) as Sejanus Plinth, Peter Dinklage (“Game Of Thrones”) as Casca Highbottom, Jason Schwartzman (“Darjeeling Limited”) as Lucretius Flickerman, Viola Davis (“The Suicide Squad”), Fionnula Flanagan (“The Others”) as Grandma’am, Michael Greco (“Misfire”) as Strabo Plinth, and Daniela Grubert as Mrs. Plinth.
Francis Lawrence, who directed the previous four “Hunger Games” movies, has settled back into the director’s chair. The screenplay is by Michael Arndt (“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”) and Michael Lesslie (“Macbeth”). Film score aficionados will also be pleased to see James Newton Howard once again contributing the score, having done so on the other “Panem” adventures.