Thursday saw Lionsgate trot out its various upcoming films to cinema chain owners and managers at this year's CinemaCon event. And while it was a relatively swift and low key presentation compared to the bigger studios, it did focus on one of the company's much anticipated titles: Hunger Games prequel The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes, which stars Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth. Included was the first full trailer, which you can now watch…
With franchise veteran Francis Lawrence once again directing, the new movie takes place roughly 64 years before the events of the main book trilogy, which of course became four movies.
Long before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem (and be played by Donald Sutherland, who voice cameos here in what makes us think will turn out to be book end scenes set in the "present" of the movies), 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Blyth) 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 (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 Gray’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.
The cast for this one also includes Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage and Jason Schwartzman, and The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes will be in cinemas on 17 November.