The Hunger Games Movies Are Leaving Netflix Today
It's the end of the month, which means this week, a number of sought-after entertainment properties will be transitioning between the various streaming services that license them. Today, The Hunger Games series left Netflix in the United States. The billion-dollar franchise, which made Jennifer Lawrence a household name, has left the streaming giant, and headed over to Peacock. Since the movies were produced and distributed during the streaming video era, they all move together between platforms, as opposed to some series (like the Batman and Superman movies), which can get broken up due to deals put in place in the past.
The series, based on the novels from Suzanne Collins, adapts three novels -- The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- into four movies, with Mockingjay being divided into two films. The Hunger Games takes place in a dystopian near-future, where the gap between the rich and poor has grown out of control, and impoverished citizens are broken up into groups and forced to send representatives to compete in a Battle Royale-style war for survival for the entertainment of the idle rich.
The franchise was a huge hit, and almost immediately after it was over, rumors started to swirl about a sequel, prequel, or TV series. None of them had come together for almost a decade, but currently, Lionsgate is working on a prequel to The Hunger Games, titled The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which will star West Side Story star Rachel Zegler.
Based on the novel of the same name from The Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins, Zegler got fans talking about the project in May of last year, after tweeting "listen up..... can y'all grow restfully? are you becoming an individual resting decisively?" Fans saw the perplexing tweet and quickly figured out that the first letter of each word in her tweet spells out the main character's name, Lucy Gray Baird.
"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," director Francis Lawrence said at the time. "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."
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is set for release on November 17.
