“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ – West Side Story’s Josh Andrés Rivera will Joins the Cast of Hunger Games Prequel”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Josh Andrés Rivera will star in Lionsgate’s upcoming The Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Sejanus Plint, the mentor of a tribute from District 2 and a close friend of a younger Coriolanus Snow, will be played by Rivera, who is most remembered for his performance in West Side Story (Tom Blyth). Rivera will reunite with Rachel Zegler, who appeared in West Side Story and will reprise her role as the homage in the upcoming film.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is based on Suzanne Collins’ 2020 prequel novel and is set 64 years before the events of the trilogy, beginning on the morning of the Tenth Hunger Games reaping, where an 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is assigned as the mentor for the tribute girl from impoverished District 12.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: Release date
The prequel’s theatrical release date has been set for November 17, 2023.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: Synopsis
Years before he would become Panem’s despotic President, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is the final hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol,” according to the synopsis. “With the 10th annual Hunger Games just around the corner, Snow is concerned when he is assigned to teach Lucy Gray Baird, the girl tribute from impoverished District 12.” Snow believes he can turn the odds in his favour after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing at the reaping ceremony. Snow and Lucy’s struggle against time to survive will finally expose who is a songbird and who is a snake, uniting their instincts for theatrics and newfound political knowledge.”
Other details
The film will be directed by Francis Lawrence, and will be written by Michael Lesslie and based on a script by Collins and Michael Arndt. Nina Jacobson and her producing partner Brad Simpson, as well as Francis Lawrence, will be in charge of the project. Executive producers will be Suzanne Collins, Tim Palen, and Jim Miller. On behalf of the studio, Meredith Wieck and Scott O’Brien are in charge of the project.
