(Image via comicbook.com)

Photography Manager: Rena Danho

Email: rdanho@umassd.edu

If you grew up in the early 2000s, you’ve probably heard about the Hunger Games franchise at one point or another. 

The Hunger Games series was first introduced by author Suzanne Collins in 2008 when her book was released. It was a hit; by 2010, over 800,000 copies had been sold. 

By 2010, The Hunger Games trilogy – consisting of the first book, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay – was fully released. 

However, the hype for this series didn’t end there. Two years following the release of the last book, The Hunger Games was adapted into a film. Lionsgate adapted the whole series into four movies – splitting Mockingjay into two separate parts. Part One ended in a cliffhanger, leaving fans hanging on the edge of their seats for almost a year until Part Two released.

By the end of Mockingjay Part Two, fans were sad to see the series end, especially since the series introduced so many characters. Fans were left wondering about their backstories and what happened to them.

Little did fans know that they were in for a big surprise in five years.

In May of 2020, Suzanne Collins released a new book in the series, a prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. 

Because the book was released in May 2020, it received a virtual launch due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite being a Covid book, it nonetheless proceeded to skyrocket in sales, with 500,000 copies sold within its first week. 

However, this wasn’t the end of what we would be hearing from the Hunger Games. In November of 2023, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes film adaption was released, which is what I’m here to talk about today.

WARNING MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes occurs sixty-four years before The Hungers Games. Fans travel back in time to witness the origin story of Coriolanus Snow, learning how he became President Snow. 

We follow Coriolanus Snow as he becomes a first-time mentor to Tribute Lucy Gray, the girl representing District Twelve in the 10th annual Hunger Games.

Without giving away too many spoilers, we get to see how much Snow alters the games in his early years – fans get to see the games different from what we initially saw in The Hunger Games. We also get to see Snow’s personal and social life, which greatly expands upon minor side characters seen in the original trilogy. 

Now the big question is, is it worth the watch? 

Short answer: Yes.

Although the movie has a run time of 2 hours and 38 minutes, it is time well spent in the theater.

As an avid dystopian fan, I appreciate that The Hunger Games is a series that really owns up to its genre and leaves readers and viewers begging for more. Viewers can’t help but wonder who dies next, and more importantly, who gets to live to see another day.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is the perfect prequel that opens a whole new world to The Hunger Games universe. 

Rachel Zegler, the actress playing Lucy Gray, has a deep understanding of her character, recognizing that Lucy is a performer forced to fight while Katniss the protagnaist of The Hunger Games is a fighter forced to perform.

Not to mention – the songs that Lucy Gray performs are incredible and give the movie a whole depth of emotions. 

Fans get to see a different side of the games and a completely new perspective of Snow, someone who is majorly hated in the fandom. They are forced to humanize the enemy – leaving the film feeling much more conflicted than before they entered the theater.  

This movie brought back the games in a new and exciting way. We got to see more of the games that fans didn’t get in Mockingjay Part One or Two. 

In short, if you’re a fan of The Hunger Games, I highly recommend seeing this movie so you can see the parallels between the timelines, what Snow went through in his early days, and just how messed up the games were, even when they first started. 

The movie brings so much action and plot, keeping fans and new viewers alike on the edge of their seats the whole film, excited to how Snow will pull off his schemes. 

Overall, a 10/10 movie, and definitely worth the watch.