The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes New Look Released

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has released a new image to check out – and longtime fans of The Hunger Games franchise will definitely notice the ominous moment it captures. The new image shows the protagonist of this prequel story, Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), on her way to a major Hunger Games event, either before the big life-or-death competition or as the starting ceremony for the actual games. Leading Lucy into the ring is the younger version of Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) who, at this point in his infamous life, is a former soldier-turned-mentor to Lucy during the games.

"Will people go see a new Hunger Games movie without Katniss?" The Hunger Games series director Francis Lawrence asked Empire Magazine, speaking for legions of fans. He went on to address the concern, explaining that "Katniss was an introvert and a survivor. She was quite quiet and stoic, you could almost say [she was] asexual. Lucy Gray is the opposite. She wears her sexuality on her sleeve, [and] she really is a performer... She loves crowds. She knows how to play crowds and manipulate people."

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Story & Cast Info 

In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) 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 (Rachel Zegler), 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.

The cast of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes includes Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman, Laurel Marsden, Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Jose Andrés Rivera, Ashley Liao, Mackenzie Lansing, Irene Boehm, Cooper Dillon, Luna Kuse, Kjell Brutscheidt, Dimitri Abold, Athena Strates, Dakota Shapiro, George Somner and Vaughan Reilly, Lilly Maria Cooper, Sofia Sannchez, and Max Raphael. Nina Jacobson will executive produce alongside her producing partner Brad Simpson, as well as Lawrence, author Suzanne Collins, and Tim Palen.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is scheduled to be released in theaters on November 17th.