Does Katniss Everdeen Appear in The Hunger Games Prequel?

After several years away, The Hunger Games franchise is back on the big screen, with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes arriving in theaters this past weekend. The film's story chronicles the rise to power of a young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth), who goes on to become the tyrannical president of Panem in the main Hunger Games series.

Despite being a prequel, fans have still wondered if and how the film connects to the main The Hunger Games story — and, in particular, if Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) makes an appearance in the film. Now that The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is in theaters, we can reveal the answer.

Is Katniss Everdeen in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes?

No, Katniss does not make an appearance in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, seeing as the film is set decades prior to her even being born. Lawrence also does not portray any sort of ancestor of the character, whose lineage remains slightly ambiguous beyond her actual parents. (There is a running fan theory that Maude Ivory Baird (Vaughan Reilly), a member of the Covey who briefly factors into the film, might be Katniss' grandmother, but that's a conversation for another day.)

That being said, there is a nod to Katniss within The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, both within the book and in the movie. While Snow and Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) hang out at the lake during Part 3 of the film, other members of the Covey present her with a swamp potato that they dug from the ground. Lucy Gray says the vegetable isn't yet ripe enough to eat, and then tells Snow that she's nicknamed the plant "Katniss." This teases that, regardless of Lucy Gray's fate at the end of the film, her naming of the plant catches on enough in District 12 that it eventually serve as the inspiration for Katniss' name.

What Is The Hunger Games Prequel About?

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.

Are you sad that Katniss Everdeen is not in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is now playing exclusively in theaters.