The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes Star Addresses Lucy Gray Baird's Fate

The ending of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes left Lucy Gray Baird's future unknown, but actor Rachel Zegler recently shared that she likes to think of her character still being out there in the world of the dystopia, igniting excitement in audiences that we might not have seen the last of the character. While there are no current plans for another entry in the series, as Songbirds & Snakes and the original four movies were all direct adaptations of the Suzanne Collins novels, many members of the cast and crew claimed more movies would be contingent on Collins crafting more stories. With multiple decades left to explore between this prequel and the original Hunger Games books, there are a lot of storytelling opportunities left for the franchise.

"I don't actually know what's going to happen. I, for one, like to believe she's alive," Zegler shared with Deadline about her character's fate. As far as getting a sequel, the actor added, "I really hope so. It would be so fun to go back."

The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes focuses on a young Coriolanus Snow, played by Tom Blyth, who would go on to become the president of Panem. Snow develops a connection to Baird, as he helps her survive her Hunger Games and the pair ultimately escape the Capital to lead a life of seeming solitude. However, when Baird realizes the lengths Snow has gone to in order to protect his own self-interests, she finds an opportunity to escape him in the woods, never to be seen again.

The original films were the breakout role for star Jennifer Lawrence, thanks to her portrayal of Katniss Everdeen. While Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes didn't feature any direct connections for Katniss, some fans have wondered if Baird could somehow be a relative of Everdeen.

"Nothing I say has any authority. [Franchise creator] Suzanne [Collins] is so closely guarded. I think Lucy Gray is some sort of progenitor of [Katniss] and I don't think she's her grandma or direct lineage or anything," cowriter Michael Lesslie revealed to TheWrap of the possible connections between the characters. "The Covey aren't blood-related, either, they're like a family. So I think she could be a member of [The Covey]. I think Lucy Gray maybe set out from home and makes it out of the sort of borders of the districts, maybe goes to [District 13]." 

He added, "Maybe there are people she meets and inspires there who are people who saw these games and were inspired by her music, and who then become the kind of genesis of Katniss. Philosophically, I think Lucy Gray is Katniss' progenitor, but I also think, for me, there's anyone who might be like Maude Ivory or someone who becomes Katniss or someone who we've never met but who is in the place that [Lucy Gray] goes."

Stay tuned for updates on the possible future of The Hunger Games.

Would you like to see Zegler return to the franchise? Let us know in the comments!