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'The Hunger Games' Prequel Film 'The Ballad of Songbirds' Announces Casting For President Coriolanus Snow

Tom Blyth from Epix's 'Billy the Kid' (2022), is set to play the lead role in the prequel film.

Source: IMDb

The dystopian trilogy, The Hunger Games, came to an end in 2015. The movie series starring Jennifer Lawrence in the lead role as Katniss Everdeen was adapted from the YA novel trilogy of the same name written by Suzanne Collins.

It has been a decade since the film first came out and the films set records at the box office with the biggest openings on weekends. Collins then released the prequel novel to the trilogy titled, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, in 2020. Sure enough, a film adaptation of the book was soon announced. The production is now in progress and set to be released in November 2023.



 

The first casting news has been announced and it happens to be a major role too. Lionsgate has announced the first cast member for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes as Tom Blyth, who is set to play a younger version of President Coriolanus Snow. Donald Sutherland played the role in the original series. Blyth has previously starred in Epix's Billy the Kid (2022), The Gilded Age (2022), and Benediction (2021). The actor is being praised for his ability to bring the character from the books to life. No other cast member has been announced yet.

Source: IMDb

"Coriolanus Snow is many things — a survivor, a loyal friend, a cutthroat, a kid quick to fall in love, and a young man ambitious to his core," director of the earlier trilogy, Francis Lawrence, who will be returning to direct the prequel as well said of Blyth's casting. "Tom's take on the character showed us all the complex ambiguities of this young man as he transforms into the tyrant he would become."  Erin Westerman, president of the production, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group also praised the actor, "Tom Blyth is an explosive rising talent whose mesmerizing and charismatic presence makes him an exciting actor and perfect for this leading role."



 

The film will be based on the young years of President Coriolanus Snow, who is chosen to mentor a tribute in the 10th Hunger Games. In addition to Snow, the other lead role will be that of Lucy Gray Baird, the tribute from District 12. 

As per the studio's logline: "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 who is a snake."