Few things get fans of a series, especially one as big as The Hunger Games, more excited than the promise of a prequel. Once a world has been taken to heart, an expansion of that setting or an origin story is a pretty sure thing for writers and filmmakers - - unless sneak peeks of that expansion leave behind the wrong flavor. Like being promised champagne and getting apple juice instead, the first official pic given out for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes left fans worried they weren't getting what was promised.
Then, like a redemption arc, Rachel Zegler, who will be playing the female lead, Lucy Gray Baird, posted a TikTok giving an on-set peek at the world they're creating. The glimpse into Coriolanus Snow's school in the capital reveals the same eccentric, cold world viewers expect from the rich in Panem. And the clips of Tom Blyth's Coriolanus Snow look far more like what fans imagined.
Rachel Zegler Brings Viewers Back to the World of Panem
Very little about the sequel to The Hunger Games has been released publicly. The official teaser on YouTube simply gave an overview via headings with a background of stylized snakes and birds. And while news on casting has been released, fans have yet to see what the world of Panem will look like this time around. Needless to say, Zegler created a good deal of excitement with the TikTok release of a behind-the-scenes peek at the filming of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. In it, she takes viewers briefly around their workspace and introduces a couple of her castmates.
Until this point, one of the fans' biggest worries was that The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes movie wouldn't carry the same overall feel as The Hunger Games trilogy. Most notably, these fears arose after a photo of the main couple was released showing Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth curled up together and proclaiming that, first and foremost, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a love story. And to make matters worse, neither of them is wearing clothes reminiscent of the games or the wild fashions in the capital of Panem.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Will Show the Hunger Games in a New Light
During the clip, Zegler treats fans to a look at the academy where Snow is attending. The wild red uniforms are far more reminiscent of what one might expect the capital's residents to be wearing. And rather than having a buzz cut like Eminem, he's sporting Snow's signature white-blond coif. However, it is worth noting that the promo photo might represent a later point in the movie since Snow is eventually required to buzz his hair in the book.
But even with this video, fans are getting introduced to this view of Panem in small snippets. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes place 65 years before the world launched in the original Hunger Games. And the movie will also celebrate the 10th annual Hunger Games, meaning the feel of Panem could be significantly different from what viewers initially saw.
Since Snow has not started his descent into becoming the evil mastermind that audiences love to hate, it stands to reason that the world surrounding him might also have yet to descend into the evil that fans of the original Hunger Games expect. The one thing Zegler's sneak peek does confirm through its glimpses is a vibrant setting being created for viewers to enjoy. So long as the two are properly linked, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes holds the potential to be a riveting world regardless of whether the settings are an exact match or simply a compliment to one another.