Lionsgate have announced that a prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy will start filming early next year.
The film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ novel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is currently scheduled for release in either late 2023 or early 2024.
The Hunger Games trilogy was adapted for the screen by Lionsgate, with the final installment of the series being released in 2015. This new film, a prequel to the original series, reunites the team behind the previous movies. The team includes director Francis Lawrence, producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson, and writer Michael Arndt, who will write the screenplay.
The story is set 64 years before the The Hunger Games. It follows a young Coriolanus Snow, the antagonistic President from the original series, as he mentors a District 12 Tribute in the 10th Hunger Games. It shows a much earlier iteration of the games than we are used to, with the introduction of concepts that are firmly established within the other books in the series. Much like its predecessors, the novel centres on the themes of disparate wealth, government control, celebrity stardom, and military tactics. While there is yet to be any casting announcements for the adaptation, Lionsgate chairman Joe Drake has said that pre-production is “moving along really, really well.”
Given that the cumulative box office earnings of The Hunger Games movies were just under three billion dollars, the film is expected to be yet another worldwide hit
The announcement came as part of the company’s quarterly earnings call with Wall Street Analysts. The call also addressed the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on distribution methods and the landscape for theatrical releases. Drake expressed confidence in the return of moviegoers to cinemas, saying “there’s an audience that wants to come back… I believe the market’s going to come back… there’s going to be a strong, robust platform for us to monetize our movies.”
Words by Rehana Nurmahi
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