The cast of Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” has expanded with the addition of “Euphoria” actor Hunter Schafer, the studio announced on Wednesday. Francis Lawrence is the director, while Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson are the producers.
Tigris Snow, Coriolanus’s confidant and cousin, will be played by Schafer. Tigris Snow gives Coriolanus advice on everything, from his position as a mentor to the foundation of his moral code. Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, and Josh Andrés Rivera are already a part of the cast, as first reported by the Wrap.
The franchise’s prequel movie, which has made over $3 billion worldwide, will be released on November 17, 2023, and is based on the best-selling book by Suzanne Collins.
After directing “Catching Fire” and both “Mockingjay” parts, Francis Lawrence reunites the series.
The new project’s executive producers will be Collins, Tim Palen, and Jim Miller. Michael Lesslie, who collaborated with Justin Kurzel on “Macbeth” and “Assassin’s Creed,” is currently writing the most recent chapter of “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” Collins and Michael Arndt, who also collaborated on the previous “Hunger Games” sequel movie “Catching Fire,” will create the screenplay.
For Lionsgate, Scott O’Brien and Meredith Wieck are in charge of supervision.
The film’s 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 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.”
The final chapter of the first “Hunger Games” series, starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth, generated more than $658 million worldwide when it was released on November 20, 2015. It seems like they will always have a good chance of success with “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.”
Schafer made a name for herself as an actress when she played Jules in the critically praised HBO series “Euphoria.” A special episode of the series, which aired in January 2021, was also co-written and co-executive produced by her. She was included in Time’s Time100 Next list of up-and-coming leaders affecting the future later in 2021. Tilman Singer’s “Cuckoo,” a Neon movie, is now being produced by Schafer.
Schafer is represented by Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern, Untitled Entertainment, CAA, and Untitled Entertainment.