First-Look At Rachel Zegler In “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” Trailer

After making its big debut on April 27 at CinemaCon 2023, the first official trailer for “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” has already reached over 2.4 million views on YouTube.

“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” will get led by a new cast with well-known faces in Hollywood, including Rachel Zegler from “West Side Story,” Hunter Schafer from “Euphoria,” and the Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis.

The new film draws viewers into the 2020 prequel novel by Suzanne Collins, who also wrote the first series, which takes place 64 years before the uprisings of Jennifer Lawrence’s “Hunger Games.”

The dystopian action film follows young President Snow, who got previously portrayed by Donald Sutherland in the first installment of the series before he develops into a tyrant who sniffs white roses.

Instead, in “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” the leader of the country; is just 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow, a young man chosen to guide District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird (Zegler) in the tenth Hunger Games.

In the prequel, Snow “is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol.”

The description continues, “With the 10th annual Hunger Games drawing near, the young Snow is alarmed when he got assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Zegler), the girl tribute from underprivileged District 12.”

Snow believes he may be able to change the odds in their favor after Lucy Gray seizes Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony. Snow and Lucy’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird and who is a snake, uniting their instincts for showmanship and newly acquired political savvy.

Additionally, the movie trailer teases the appearances of “Game of Thrones” actor Peter Dinklage, “West Side Story” actor Josh Andres Rivera, and “Moonrise Kingdom” actor Jason Schwartzman.

The trailer also gave the viewers a hint as to what they can anticipate from the original series, including the lavish and indulgent attire promoted by Capitol officials and the televised portion of the games, which Schwartzman’s character (Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman) hosts.

The film franchise director, Francis Lawrence, who had previously helmed three of the four “Hunger Games” movies, stepped back into the director’s chair.

On November 17, 2023, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is planned to hit the big screen.