“Hunger Games” director addresses possibility of prequel movies about Haymitch and Finnick
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Francis Lawrence is well aware of the fan wishes for Hunger Games prequel movies about fan favorite characters Haymitch Abernathy and Finnick Odair.
For EW's cover story on the ambitious Coriolanus Snow villain origin story The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the franchise director (Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part 1 and 2) reveals he would be game to step back into the arena for movies that explored how District 12 victor and mentor Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) and/or the late District 4 victor Finnick (Sam Claflin) conquered their own Hunger Games. He just has a prerequisite question that would require one hell of an answer: Why?
"I liked being part of the series originally because the stories are great," Lawrence says. "But what was always gratifying was that they were always about something. Suzanne [Collins, franchise author] always writes from a thematic foundation. The original ones were all about the consequences of war. [Songbirds and Snakes is] about the state of nature. That's what makes them feel rich and not superficial, and I think it's why they've stood the test of time, honestly."
Lawrence continues, "If Suzanne has another thematic idea that she feels fits into the world of Panem — whether that's with new people [or] familiar characters [like] Finnick, Haymitch, whoever — I'd be really interested in looking at it and being a part of it. But I don't have any pull of just going, 'I would love to do Finnick's games.' He's a great character, but what's the thematic underpinnings that make it worth telling and relevant?"
Everett Collection (2) Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy; Sam Claflin as Finnick Odair in 'The Hunger Games'
Franchise producer Nina Jacobson, who produced all four original Hunger Games movies, echoes these sentiments, noting that Collins has never been one to crank out a book for the sake of just cranking out a book. "If she has something to say, I want to hear it," Jacobson says. "I'm fascinated by her perspective. I will always want to follow her lead."
Before Collins released The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes as a novel in 2020, Lawrence and Jacobson had been entertaining the idea of a prequel story — about the origins of the Hunger Games that dates back to the Dark Days — since the release of 2015's Mockingjay Part 2. "We always thought that was much more interesting than some of the kinds of fan wishes, which [were] like, 'Do the Haymitch games! Do the Finnick games!'" Lawrence recalls. But at the time, "Suzanne was done." They were, of course, surprised to hear from Collins in late 2019 with the news about a certain future tyrant. "We didn't even know she had started another one," he says.
Murray Close/Lionsgate Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in 'Hunger Games' prequel 'Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'
Songbirds and Snakes follows an 18-year-old Coriolanus (Tom Blyth, following in the steps of original Snow actor Donald Sutherland) as he's tasked to mentor the District 12 female tribute Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) during the 10th annual Hunger Games. Much like with Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), indifference soon gives way to love between Coriolanus and Lucy Gray against the brutal backdrop of the games.
"[Katniss'] draw to Peeta is this shared trauma," the director says. "You go through an experience together and feel more understood by that person than anybody else. It's the same here." With Coriolanus and Lucy Gray, "There's this mutual need," he adds. "He needs her to win and survive so he wins. She needs him to help her win and survive so she survives." But also, it's complicated. "There's manipulation on both sides."
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes opens in theaters Nov. 17.
Make sure to check out EW's Fall Movie Preview cover story on The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes — as well as all of our 2023 Fall TV Preview content, releasing through Sept. 29.
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