It has just been announced that Lionsgate's The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has gained five new stars in Jerome Lance, Ashley Liao, Knox Gibson, Mackenzie Lansing, and Aamer Husain. The five actors will be portraying newly introduced tributes and their mentors. Lance, Gibson, and Husain are essentially newcomers, while Liao has appeared in the films Always Be My Maybe and Secret Society of Second Born Royals, and Lansing in the shows The Deuce and Mare of Easttown.
The newly announced cast members join the already announced Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler. Blyth will portray a younger version of Coriolanus Snow while Ziegler will portray Lucy Gray Baird, a tribute from the impoverished District 12. The upcoming prequel film will be directed by Francis Lawrence, who directed all the previous films in the Hunger Games franchise aside from the first. Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt both wrote drafts of the screenplay for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes film, which is adapted from the book of the same name by Susanne Collins, who penned all the Hunger Games novels. Collins also serves as an executive producer on the film.
Lance will be portraying Marcus, a tribute hailing from District 2. Liao will play Clemensia Dovecote, a close friend of Coriolanus and a mentor to an unknown tribute from District 11. Gibson is taking on the role of Bobbin, a tribute from District 8, while Lansing is portraying Coral, a tribute from District 4. Husain has been tapped to play Felix Ravinstill, who like Clemensia, is a mentor to a tribute from District 11.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is being produced by Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson, as well as director Lawrence. Jacobson has produced all the Hunger Games movies. Meredith Wieck and Scott O’Brien are overseeing production on behalf of Lionsgate.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will hit theaters worldwide on November 17, 2023. Stay tuned at Collider for more details.
Check out the official synopsis for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes below:
"Years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Blyth) is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Zegler), the girl tribute from impoverished District 12. But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake."