‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes’ Finds Its Coriolanus Snow In Tom Blyth

Patrick Hipes
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Tom Blyth, who stars in Epix’s Western series Billy the Kid, has been cast as the young Coriolanus Snow The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Lionsgate’s upcoming adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ latest installment in her bestselling YA series.

The studio revealed the news Monday that Blyth will portray Snow in the years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem; the character was played by Donald Sutherland in the original four Hunger Games movies from 2012-2015.

More from Deadline

Collins’ Songbirds and Snakes, published in 2020, finds 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow as 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.

Lionsgate said during last month’s CinemaCon that it has set a November 17, 2023 release for the prequel, the same pre-Thanksgiving corridor where Hunger Games sequels Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part One and Mockingjay Part Two opened. The sequels were directed by Francis Lawrence, who returns to helm the new pic. The latest draft of the screenplay is by Michael Lesslie (Macbeth, Assassin’s Creed).

Overall, the franchise has grossed more than $3 billion at the global box office.

Blyth, whose credits include The Gilded Age and Benediction, is repped by Gersh, United Agents in the UK, MJ Management, and Sloane, Offer.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.