Fans of the Hunger Games franchise await the return to Panem with the upcoming prequel coming to theaters on November 17.
In 2020, author Suzanne Collins released the highly-awaited book “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”. The novel followed the massive success of her original trilogy “The Hunger Games”. “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is a prequel, following the perspective of a young Coriolanus Snow mentoring a tribute during the 10th annual Hunger Games.
The prequel came out to mixed reviews from critics. While NPR called it a “lackluster prequel,” Slate called it “more sophisticated and philosophical” than the original trilogy. This leaves fans wondering what the upcoming movie will bring to the table, and how it will compare to the original. Taylor Jolene, a 21-year-old UCF Journalism student, and a fan of the novels, says, “(I’m) excited to see this new movie because it’s darker than the original books. Snow is a very interesting main character to follow… even though he is divisive.”
One of the biggest criticisms of “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is the focus on an unlikely protagonist such as Snow. In the original Hunger Games, audiences revered the protagonist Katniss Everdeen. Fans appreciated how she was morally gray, but always attempted to do the right thing. The appeal of Katniss was a major part of the trilogy’s success at the box office.
According to Box Office Mojo by IMDB, the first Hunger Games movie made $408,010,692 at the domestic box office. The highest-grossing installment of the series was the last movie, and it made $281,723,902 at the domestic box office.
Tori Gawne, a stay-at-home mother and entrepreneur from New Jersey, has been a fan since the books came out. In her opinion, “The Hunger Games was such a success because it came exactly at the right time. It kind of rode the wave of people who grew up with Harry Potter, and when those fans were old enough, they were looking for another action franchise to support. And then, the adaptations only made them more popular.”
The Hunger Games movies weren’t just a commercial success, but also a critical success. According to IMDB, the original Hunger Games movie received 48 award nominations and won 33 times. This includes a BAFTA Children’s Award for Best Feature Film and a Critics Choice Award for Best Actress in an Action Film.
Gawne says “I don’t know whether the magic of the original can be replicated. But I think nostalgia is a huge factor in having people come out to the theaters. The movies were such a big part of my life, and I’m excited to be able to have that feeling again with the prequel.”
The upcoming “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” movie will be directed by Francis Lawrence, the same director of all but the first Hunger Games movie. The top-billed cast of “The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” includes Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird, Tom Blythe as Coriolanus Snow, and Hunter Schafer as Tigris Snow. All these actors have received critical acclaim for their previous projects. Rachel Zegler won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture in 2022 for her role as Maria in West Side Story. Tom Blythe was praised for his role in the TV show The Gilded Age and Hunter Schafer has also been praised for her role as Jules in the TV show Euphoria.
“More than 10 years have gone since the first movie came out. When you think about it, there is a whole generation that didn’t get to see the Hunger Games mania. I think what I’m most excited about is seeing a new audience enjoy the franchise,” said William Poitevint, a broadcast news journalist from Alabama.
The excitement for the release of the movie is palpable, with fans eagerly awaiting to see if it will live up to the hype of the original trilogy. The movie will be released on November 17 in theaters nationwide.
