The Hunger Games franchise is officially slated to return to the big screen in 2023.
Per Variety, Lionsgate debuted a teaser for its upcoming Hunger Games prequel film, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, at CinemaCon. While the teaser did not show any footage from the movie, nor did it announce any cast members, Lionsgate did reveal the theatrical release date of Friday, Nov. 17, 2023.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is based on author Suzanne Collins' 2020 novel of the same name. The book serves as a prequel to Collins' original Hunger Games trilogy of novels, which consists of 2008's The Hunger Games, 2009's Catching Fire and 2010's Mockingjay. Set several decades before the events of The Hunger Games, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes follows a young version of series antagonist Coriolanus Snow, long before he became president of Panem.
Lionsgate's The Hunger Games, a feature film adaptation of Collins' first novel starring Jennifer Lawrence in the lead role of Katniss Everdeen and Donald Sutherland as President Snow, released in theaters in 2012. A sequel, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, followed suit in 2013. The film series concluded with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, which released in 2014 and 2015, respectively.
Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer first expressed interest in Hunger Games spinoffs in 2017. In 2019, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chairman Joe Drake announced that the company was working with Collins to adapt the then-unreleased Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The film adaptation officially entered development in April 2020, one month before the book's release.
Francis Lawrence -- who directed Catching Fire, Mockingjay - Part 1 and Mockingjay - Part 2 -- returns to helm The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The prequel film is written by Michael Arndt from a story adaptation by Collins. Collins is also producing the film alongside Nina Jacobson (who produced the first four Hunger Games films) and Brad Simpson. While no casting information is available at this time, Variety reports that The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is currently in production.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes releases in theaters on Nov. 17, 2023.
Source: Variety