Peter Dinklage To Join Lionsgate's 'Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes'

Lionsgate's The Hunger Games prequel, Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is welcoming Peter Dinklage as Casca Highbottom, dean of the Academy.

The Emmy-winning actor will star in the film opposite Tom Blyth, who will play the young Coriolanus Snow, and Rachel Zegler, as a tribute to Lucy Gray Baird. Francis Lawrence, who directed the franchise’s Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part One, and Mockingjay Part Two, will direct the adaptation of Suzanne Collins' novel.

Lawrence, who is one of the producers along with franchise producer Nina Jacobson and her producing partner Brad Simpson, said, “Dean Highbottom is one of the most powerful people in Snow’s life. As the austere and vindictive face of the games, he sets the rules that will determine every aspect of Coriolanus’ fate. I’m thrilled that Peter will be bringing him to life,” reports Deadline.

Nathan Kahane, President of Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group expressed his excitement about the way the cast has come together and is "thrilled to be welcoming Peter Dinklage to Panem." He added, "Peter is not just a fan favorite actor who brings a commanding presence to every part he plays. He is one of the best actors alive. He will bring a formidable, charismatic authority to the important role of the dean of the Academy."

Jacobson said, “I cannot think of an actor more perfectly suited to inhabit the role of Highbottom.” Explaining that the character is full of secrets, she mentioned that Dinklage's "magnetism, intensity and dark humor will infuse him with the intelligence, depth and pathos that the role demands."

The prequel’s logline from Lionsgate reads: “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 girl 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’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird and a snake.”

Dinklage is well known for his work as Tyrion Lannister on HBO’s global hit series Game of Thrones. Dinklage most recently starred as Cyrano for director Joe Wright. His upcoming work includes Brothers, opposite Josh Brolin and Brendan Fraser, and She Came to Me, opposite Anne Hathaway and Marisa Tomei for writer-director Rebecca Miller.

The Hunger Games is an adaptation of a young adult dystopian novel series that was first started publishing in 2008 with the same name. It received its first film adaptation in 2012 with Jennifer Lawrence playing the central protagonist Katniss Everdeen. The commercially successful film series ended with Mockingjay-Part 2 which was released in November 2015.

Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes will debut in theaters worldwide on Nov. 17, 2023.