If you were around during the 2010s, you know that the entertainment industry was absolutely dominated by dystopian YA franchises. Of those film adaptations, The Hunger Games remains one of the most salient — which is why the series is still going strong with a prequel film set to hit theaters next year. Based on the novel series by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games follows a hellish version of American society known as Panem where the country is divided into 12 districts, and each year 24 children are selected to compete to the death for resources from the Capitol until only one remains and is granted glory and riches.
Director Francis Lawrence, who has helmed every entry to the Hunger Games franchise, save the first one, recently sat down with Collider's Editor-in-Chief, Steve Weintraub to discuss his upcoming film Slumberland, and the conversation turned to all things Hunger Games and the upcoming prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Set 65 years before the events of the first Hunger Games movie and book, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes dives into the backstory of President Coriolanus Snow. The novel follows the would-be president when he's selected at the age of 18 to be a mentor for Lucy Gray Baird, a girl from District 12, in the 10th Annual Hunger Games.
During their conversation, Weintraub asked Lawrence, who has returned to direct the prequel, how shooting this film compared to filming the previous installments in the franchise, particularly in terms of the size and scope of the film. Lawrence revealed that he expects Ballad to be the longest of the Hunger Games, saying:
"We were scheduled for 85 days. We got a day ahead, so we did it in 84 days, which is shorter than Catching Fire, but longer than each of the Mocking Jays. So it was in between because we shot the Mocking Jays together for 155 days, which ends up being 77-ish days apiece. So it was a little longer than each of the Mocking Jays, but shorter than Catching Fire. It definitely will be the longest of all the movies."
How Long Will The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Be?
Given that the film just recently wrapped filming, Lawrence couldn't share the exact runtime as it won't be finalized for some time following what will likely be a lengthy post-production period. However, Lawrence did go on to say that he expects the film to be upwards of two hours. Though many of us would certainly sit through three hours of Panem backstory, Lawrence does hope to come in under that three-hour mark. "I want it to be shorter than that," Lawrence said, "but I know that Catching Fire I think was like 2:26 or something. I think it was about 2:26 with credits. I think it'll be longer than that, but I'm really hoping it's not a 3-hour movie."
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes stars Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Hunter Schafer, Peter Dinklage, Viola Davis, Jason Schwartzman, and Laurel Marsden, and is set to hit theaters on November 17, 2023. You can watch the title treatment teaser down below, and stay tuned at Collider for future updates. And don't forget to check out the rest of our conversation with Lawrence soon.