The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes takes place 64 years before the events of The Hunger Games. The prequel chronicles the 10th annual games, and stars Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird, the girl tribute from District 12. Zegler has spoken about how her character “echos” Katniss Everdeen, who was played by Jennifer Lawrence in the original four films. However, Zegler isn’t the only actor playing a District 12 tribute in the prequel. Nick Benson plays Jessup in the film, the boy tribute from Katniss’ home. ComicBook.com recently chatted with Benson about the movie, and we asked if he considered any connections his character might have to Katniss.
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“I didn’t actually think about that too much, at least because for my character, I know he worked in the mines and stuff, and that’s their thing,” Benson explained of District 12. “That’s a mining town, so they have a deep history with that. I think there could be some … I don’t know, maybe some of Katniss’ ancestors might’ve known, worked with me or my family or something like that. I think that could be a cool thing to think about.”
During the interview, Benson also talked about being a fan of The Hunger Games before being cast as Jessup.
“I was definitely a fan,” Benson shared. “I read the books before. Me and my sister. We were both fans. And then when the movies came out, we were one of the first ones in the theater. She dressed up for the midnight premiere. I don’t know if I went that far, but we were definitely there. We were The Hunger Games kids for sure. Coming into it, I was definitely already a fan of this, more than I am now.”
When Is The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes Coming To DVD?
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is currently available to buy on digital, and Lionsgate will be releasing the new film on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on February 13th. You can read a description of the film below:
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes follows 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) as he sees a chance for a change in fortune when he is chosen to be a mentor to Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), the girl tribute from the impoverished District 12. In addition to Blyth and Zegler, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is set to feature big names such as Viola Davis (Head Gamemaker Volumnia Gaul), Peter Dinklage (Casca Highbottom), Jason Schwartzman (Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman), Hunter Schafer (Tigris Snow), and Josh Andrés Rivera (Sejanus Plinth).
Stay tuned for more from our interviews with the cast of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.
