Discover the origins of Panem's feared President Coriolanus Snow in the upcoming Hunger Games prequel, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
British actor Tom Blyth plays the younger iteration of the character portrayed by Donald Sutherland in the initial Hunger Games series. The movie is based on the novel by Suzanne Collins and no doubt aims to revive the blockbuster heritage of its predecessors, which made a star out of Jennifer Lawrence.
Of course, there will be no sign of Lawrence's tenacious Katniss Everdeen in this particular story, given it's set 65 years in the past. The official synopsis is as follows:
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 female 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 Gray’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.
A clutch of new posters have been released teasing the various denizens of the Capitol. Scroll through the following to discover Blyth's Snow and Zegler's Baird.
We also have Josh Andrés Rivera's Sejanus Plinth whose family connections gain him admittance to the Capitol and Snow's counsel, despite Plinth's hatred of the games.
There's also Hunter Schafer as the younger Tigris Snow, the Hunger Games stylist and Snow's cousin who was ultimately cast out from the Capitol. You may remember the older incarnation of the character turned up in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, played by Eugenie Bondurant. Will the new movie fill in the blanks on her backstory?
Then we have the ruthless new clutch of game-makers who will be making the tributes' lives a living hell. Peter Dinklage is playing Casca Highbottom, the Dean of the Academy that President Snow is attending.
It's revealed that, many years earlier, Casca's drunken intellectual discourse with Snow's father unwittingly led to the creation of the Hunger Games itself.
The primary antagonist is set to be Dr. Volumnia Gaul, portrayed by Oscar-winner Viola Davis. She's the head game-maker of the 10th Hunger Games and also presides over the creation of the Capitol's experimental weapons division, including the terrifying 'muttations'.
And finally, we have Jason Schwartzman as Lucretius 'Lucky' Flickerman. That name may ring a bell – remember Stanley Tucci's garish broadcaster Caesar Flickerman from the original Hunger Games series?
It remains to be seen if the movie will contrive a hereditary link between Lucky and Caesar. For the moment, we know that the former is a weather-caster turned Hunger Games presenter who helps initiate the sponsorship system to secure an even wider viewing audience.
Is that enough Hunger Games mythology to feast on for the time being? Keep your eyes peeled for more info as we build toward the release of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes on November 17th.
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