Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth Take on the Hunger Games in New 'Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes' Trailer

Tommy McArdle
·2 min read
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'The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes' is in theaters Nov. 17

Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler are teaming up to make the Hunger Games into a spectacle.

On Wednesday, Lionsgate debuted a thrilling new trailer for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, which stars Zegler, 22, as District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird and Blyth, 28, as a young Coriolanus Snow.

The story is set 64 years before the events of the Jennifer Lawrence films. An 18-year-old Snow, desperate to restore his family's name, is tasked with mentoring Lucy Gray in the 10th annual Hunger Games.

Lucy Gray, a skilled singer, uses her talents to her advantage, and she and Coriolanus form an unlikely connection while collaborating on her survival strategy.

In the new trailer, fans hear Zegler's rendition of "The Hanging Tree" song, which Lawrence sang in 2014's The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 and made its way to the Billboard Hot 100 chart at the time.

"Hanging Tree" is just one of several songs West Side Story alum Zegler sings in the new installment.

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<p>Murray Close/Courtesy of Lionsgate</p> Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth in "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes"

Murray Close/Courtesy of Lionsgate

Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth in "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes"

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The cast also includes Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman and Josh Andrés Rivera.

<p>Murray Close/Courtesy of Lionsgate</p> Rachel Zegler in "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes"

Murray Close/Courtesy of Lionsgate

Rachel Zegler in "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes"

The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is adapted from author Suzanne Collins's 2020 novel of the same name. Francis Lawrence, who directed each of the franchise's previous films minus the 2012 original, returns to direct the prequel.

Related: 'The Hunger Games' Cast: Where Are They Now?

<p>Courtesy of Lionsgate</p>

Courtesy of Lionsgate

The director recently told Empire magazine that the character of Lucy Gray is the "anti-Katniss" in many ways.

"Katniss was an introvert and a survivor. She was quite quiet and stoic, you could almost say [she was] asexual," he said. "Lucy Gray is the opposite. She wears her sexuality on her sleeve, [and] she really is a performer."

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is in theaters Nov. 17.

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