Rachel Zegler’s following up her starring role in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story with a lead role in Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The Hunger Games prequel will be directed by Francis Lawrence, director of three out of the four Hunger Games feature films.
“Like everybody, I first saw Rachel Zegler in West Side Story, and like everybody, I knew I was watching a star who would command the screen for a generation,” stated Lawrence. “Lucy Gray is a perfect match for her as an actress: the character is bold, independent, and defiant, but also vulnerable, emotional, and loving. Rachel will make this character unforgettable.”
Gary Ross directed 2012’s The Hunger Games with Francis Lawrence taking over the helm on Catching Fire (2013), Mockingjay Part 1 (2014), and Mockingjay Part 2 (2015). The films are adapted from Suzanne Collins’ bestselling dystopian novels, and Collins is on board to executive produce The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Rachel Zegler will play Lucy Gray Baird. Billy the Kid star Tom Blyth is confirmed to star as the young Coriolanus Snow. (Donald Sutherland played the older version of Snow in the previous four Hunger Games films.) Director Lawrence, Nina Jacobson, and Brad Simpson will produce, with Tim Palen and Jim Miller executive producing.
“Lucy Gray is an incredibly complex character, a performer who has to use every skill in her arsenal to survive. Our casting team, Deb Zane and Dylan Jury, spearheaded an exhaustive search, reading hundreds of actors in search of our perfect Lucy Gray. That search ended when Rachel Zegler blew the roof off with her depth and breadth of talent as an actor, singer, and performer. Rachel is utterly compelling; just like Lucy Gray, her voice and charisma command the stage while her inner strength and humanity transform those around her,” said producer Nina Jacobson.
Lionsgate is targeting a November 17, 2023 theatrical release.
The studio released the following description of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes:
“Years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow 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, 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.”
