The glory days of the original Hunger Games franchise have long fizzled out, with the final movie coming out ten years ago this November. However, the new novel The ballad of songbirds and snakes in May 2020 sent shockwaves through the fandom, with many hoping for a movie adaptation. At the end of 2023 their prayers were answered and it hit our screens with an all-star cast including Hunter Schafer, Peter Dinklage, Viola Davis, Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth.
The film itself rivals the hype of the original franchise by being book accurate with casting, set and costume design in true Hunger Games fashion. It’s a must see for anyone who had a deep love for the trilogy, as it captures the grittiness of the dystopian world where these iconic characters exist. It also helps to deepens the lore surrounding Coriolanus Snows descent into the villainy that we are see in The Hunger Games franchise and attempts to humanise him through his relationship with Lucy Gray and Tigris Snow.
The ballad of songbirds and snakes is set 65 years before the original franchise, ten years after the rebellion, featuring some familiar faces and some new. The movie follows Coriolanus Snow, 18 (Tom Blyth), his cousin Tigris Snow, 21 (Hunter Schafer) and the legendary Lucy Gray Baird, 16 (Rachel Zegler).
Fans of the franchise were quick to notice the connections between The ballad of songbirds and snakes and the first book. Although Lucy is never mentioned directly by name there is a throwaway line related to her – “Then he begins to read the list of past District 12 victors. In seventy-four years, we have had exactly two. Only one is still alive; Haymitch Abernathy.”
The iconic song The Hanging Tree also makes a comeback much to fans delight, when Lucy is seen sitting in a field with a guitar singing the tune. This scene has caused a huge divide within the fandom about how the tune gets passed down to Katniss and where the mysterious Lucy Gray fits into the original trilogy.
The original franchise was kept alive for so long by fans with huge cinema turn outs, eccentric themed birthday parties, fan edits galore. These include crudely edited 2010 themed videos on YouTube that reflect the fandoms age and love for the franchise, with the now iconic ‘whistle X Josh Hutcherson’ edit sitting at 12M views.
The release of Ballad of songbirds and snakes has had a similar reaction from fans with Tik Tok reviving the whistle X Josh Hutcherson edit which now sits at 3M views, as well as edits of Oliva Rodrigos hit song Can’t Catch Me Now written for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes soundtrack. Stan culture has also allowed for edits of young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) to go viral with the most viewed videos sitting at 307K.
For fans of The Hunger Games franchise as a whole, the latest instalment is a must watch. You can reveal who is a songbird and who is a snake by viewing The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes on apple tv, prime video and google play movies for £15.99.
Amelia Jones 
Tyler Law