Who would ever turn down a role in a major franchise? Well, it looks like Rachel Zegler did, and she has some explaining to do. Based on Suzanne Collins' dystopian book series of the same name, The Hunger Games enjoyed a fruitful cinema run, bringing in positive box office revenue as well as good critic scores. What's more, ever since Jennifer Lawrence volunteered herself as a tribute in the four installments of the film series, her career has taken off and made her one of the most notable actresses today. However, despite the film's success, Zegler initially turned down the role and explained how she got the part again.
The cinematic juxtaposition of the wealthy and commoners has always piqued the interest of viewers, especially in an era when various dystopian-inspired franchises have graced the big screen in the 2010s. With The Hunger Games tackling poverty, power, and a capitalist nation — and with a female lead serving as the face of the rebellion —The Hunger Games became a huge success that spawned three sequels, including Catching Fire and the two-part Mockingjay. Collins had also released The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a prequel to her trilogy, which will be soon adapted into a movie starring Zegler in the main lead.
Fortunately for her, despite declining the role, she eventually got it back. In an interview with Happy Sad Confused podcast, the West Side Story actress revealed how it was an embarrassment to turn down a role in a massive franchise's prequel.
"Let me tell you because is such an embarrassing story for me. I was offered it in January of last year after wanting it so badly. I didn’t audition, it was just, I got a call from my agent that was like ‘Francis Lawrence [The Hunger Games franchise director] wants you to do this.’ And I met with him for like three hours at the Soho Hotel in London. And then he told me that they were filming in Germany and in Poland and I had just gotten to London and I wanted to disappear because I was so far away from home for the first time ever. And I was away from everybody that I knew and loved, and I said ‘no.’"
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Of course, the actress later came to regret her decision, but the odds were in her favor, and when she changed her mind, she ultimately got the Lucy Gray Baird role. She added: "And I regretted it the second I said it. I had another project lined up that fell through that got pushed into 2023 and I just kind of put my name back into the mix and got it, and I feel really bad for any of the girls… because I put my name back in and they were just like ‘yup, OK, cool, we’ll do it.’"
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes follows Coriolanus Snow's early life, 64 years before becoming the oppressive leader of Panem known to fans as President Snow in the franchise, as he gets ready to mentor District 12's female tribute, Lacy Gray Baird (Zegler).Tom Blyth will play the younger version of Panem's tyrannical president, while Hunter Schafer will star as Tigris Snow. The rest of the cast includes Jason Schwartzman, Peter Dinklage, Viola Davis, Burn Gorman, Fionnula Flanagan, and more.
The tributes will be catching fire as The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes hits theaters on November 17. You can check out the interview below.