The Hunger Games franchise is officially slated to return to the big screen in 2023. Lionsgate is moving forward with its Hunger Games prequel film, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, announcing a November 17, 2023 release during its CinemaCon presentation.
As Deadline reports, that date is the same pre-Thanksgiving corridor where The Hunger Games sequels Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part One and Mockingjay Part Two opened. The prequel to the billion-dollar series is set years prior to the original movies where Jennifer Lawrence led the franchise as heroine Katniss Everdeen, while supporting stars included Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Sam Claflin, and Woody Harrelson.“In this return to ‘The Hunger Games,’ years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow sees a chance for a change in fortunes when he is chosen to be a mentor to Lucy Gray Baird, the girl tribute from impoverished District 12,” Lionsgate synopsis read.
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. Francis Lawrence, who directed Catching Fire, Mockingjay – Part 1 and Mockingjay – Part 2, returns to helm The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The screenplay is written by Michael Arndt from a story adaptation by Collins. Collins is also producing the film alongside Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson. No casting information is available at the moment.
