I do believe there is a decent story somewhere in this mess of bloated mediocrity, a story that should have been told by Lucy maybe? But as is, this is a massive failure of execution. The pacing is off, the themes are muddled, there is no passion, there is no urgency, there is no heart, there are no stakes. There is, of course, Lucy who was badly underserved. And her songs (too many?). Two potential positives totally wasted on this travesty of a novel.

D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 31, 2022). "Rachel Zegler To Play Lucy Gray Baird In Lionsgate's 'The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes' ". a b c d e f D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 6, 2022). " 'Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes': Fourth Round Of Tributes & Mentors Counts Nine". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 16, 2022 . Retrieved July 6, 2022.

Who stars in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes?

McCreesh, Louise (May 19, 2020). "Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes gets a mixed response from critics". Digital Spy . Retrieved May 20, 2020. Grandma'am - the grandmother of Coriolanus Snow. She sings the Capitol anthem " Gem of Panem." She doted on Coriolanus and often spoke of the Snow family grandeur. For his part, Coriolanus loved her, but felt she had lost touch with reality a long time ago. She grows roses in a rooftop garden. She is a regal woman who begins to descend into denial and eventually despair as the Snows struggle to mask their poor financial situation. The film is based on Collins’ 2020 novel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which is set 64 years before the main action of the trilogy, meaning you can forget about Katniss. Collins instead focuses on the villain of the original series, Coriolanus Snow (played in the first four films by Donald Sutherland). There has been a war between the impoverished districts and elitist stronghold, the Capitol. Though the latter won, it is significantly damaged. The once-wealthy Snow family are now running out of cash; their factories in District 13 were destroyed in the war. Bright and determined Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) views academic success as the way to help his family, which includes fashionable cousin Tigris (Hunter Schafer). Grady, Constance (May 19, 2020). The new Hunger Games prequel is introspective and dark as hell. Vox. Retrieved on May 21, 2020. As she later explains to Coriolanus, all members of the Covey take their first names from ballads and their second names from colors, but Lucy is special in that both came from the same place. Her ballad is an adaptation of William Wordsworth’s 1799 poem “Lucy Gray,” about the ghost of a young girl lost in a snowstorm. The imagery is particularly apt to this story, with lines about how Her feet disperse the powdery snow, / That rises up like smoke.

At first all is idyllic, with Coriolanus training during the week and spending Saturday nights at The Hob (the local market and gathering space) watching Lucy Gray and her Covey bandmates perform country ballads for the locals. The two become entwined in each other’s lives and begin to ponder a future together.a b Lang, Brent (August 8, 2017). "Lionsgate Chief Says 'Hunger Games,' 'Twilight' Have 'More Stories to Tell' ". Variety. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018 . Retrieved July 31, 2021.