Jason Schwartzman Cast in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Jason Schwartzman (Fargo, The French Dispatch) has been cast in the upcoming Hunger Games prequel movie The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. According to reports, Schwartzman will be playing Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman, host of the 10th Hunger Games that take place in the film. Fans of Suzanne Collins Hunger Games series will see that surname and quickly recognize that “Lucky” is the ancestor of Caesar Flickerman, the Hunger Games host of Katniss Everdeen’s era. Caesar was famously played in The Hunger Games films by Stanley Tucci. 

Having Schwartzman play an ancestor of Tucci is in itself a humorous sight gag; the two actors certainly have the physical traits to at least look like they are related. Knowing Schwartzman’s comedic sensibilities he’ll probably have both a lot of dry wit takes on the happenings of the Hunger Games, as well as some mannerisms and little ticks that will establish some deeper connective themes between his performance and Stanley Tucci’s. 

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has been on a serious casting kick lately. Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler will play the lead roles of young Coriolanus Snow and the District 12 tribute he mentors, Lucy Gray Baird. Nick Benson will be Jessup, the other District 12 tribute; Laurel Marsden, Lilly Cooper, Luna Steeples, and Hiroki Berrecloth were recently added in the roles of various tributes and mentors from other districts. Josh Andres Rivera will play Sejanus Plinth, another mentor who is a close friend of Coriolanus; Hunter Schafer will play Tigris Snow, Coriolanus’ cousin, and close confidante. 

“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 a snake.”

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be in theaters on November 17, 2023. 

Source: THR