Hunger Games prequel movie The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes continues to add interesting people. Hot on the heels of Euphoria's Hunter Schafer joining the cast comes word that Jason Schwartzman has snagged a relatively small but no doubt key role.
With franchise stalwart Francis Lawrence back directing from a script by Michael Lesslie, the film is set years before the Games movies, and focuses partly on a younger Coriolanus Snow – later to be the tyrannical president of Panem. Here, 18-year-old Snow (Tom Blyth), is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol.
As the 10th annual Hunger Games approaches, Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), 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...
Schwartzman will be Lucretius "Lucky" Flickerman, the host of the 10th annual Hunger Games and dubbed the "voice of Panem." Lucretius is the ancestor of Caesar Flickerman, who was played by Stanley Tucci (with gleaming white gnashers) in the original series of films.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes is due in cinemas on 17 November next year.