HUNGER GAMES: BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES (TBD) 2 2

[Bosco685]

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This morning, Lionsgate announced they’re pushing forward with a continuation of The Hunger Games on the big screen by adapting author Suzanne Collins’s upcoming prequel novel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. While no release date for the film has been targeted as of yet, the book is set to publish just a few weeks from now on May 19.

 

The original series of films was a watershed moment for the studio in the early 2010s as they capitalized on the wave of popular young adult stories being translated from the page to a cinematic setting. Harry Potter had come to its literary and theatrical denouements in 2011, while Lionsgate / Summit’s own adaptation of the Twilight series closed out in 2012.

 

The Hunger Games, though, was a smashing success off the line when it bowed to $152.5 million on opening weekend in March 2012. The film blew away box office expectations and signaled the start of a new blockbuster franchise for Hollywood, ultimately earning $408 million domestically and an additional $286.4 million overseas. Moreover, the film launched star Jennifer Lawrence to the top of many A-lists in Hollywood as her career took off in major ways from there.

 

At the time, Hunger Games‘ debut was the biggest March box office opening in history and has only since been surpassed by the Beauty and the Beast remake, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Captain Marvel.

 

Just a year and a half later, Catching Fire proved the first film’s success was no fluke as the anticipated follow-up debuted to another $158.1 million on opening weekend in November 2013, which to this day still stands as the highest November debut of all time. That first sequel proved to be the highest grossing entry of the four-film series with $865 million worldwide.

 

The third and final book in Collins’s novel trilogy was divided into two films, mimicking the strategy employed by the finales of Potter and Twilight before it. 2014’s Mockingjay Part I debuted to $121.9 million domestically, finishing with over $755 million worldwide, while 2015’s Part II capped things off with a $102.7 million stateside opening and over $658 million at the global box office.

 

All in, the four films in the franchise pulled $1.45 billion domestically, plus $1.52 billion internationally, for a global sum of more than $2.97 billion.

 

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EXCLUSIVE: The Francis Lawrence-directed feature adaptation of the Suzanne Collins prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has added 11 actors in its final casting round.

 

This includes Tony Award nominee Fionnula Flanagan, who’ll play Grandma’am, young Coriolanus Snow’s (Tom Blyth) strict grandmother. Years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, the 18-year-old is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a postwar Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), the girl tribute from impoverished District 12. But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird and who is a snake.

 

[Bosco685]

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Viola Davis and Peter Dinklage are reaping a new crop of tributes for that familiar gladiatorial competition in the first trailer for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

 

In Lionsgate's closer look at the dystopian prequel, we return to a world in which every year two children from each of the country's districts are chosen at random to fight to the death in the Hunger Games. This time, it's a young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) and his mentee, Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), who are locked in a battle of life or death.

 

"I am honored to introduce to you the creator of the Hunger Games," a sinister Volumnia Gaul (Davis), Head Gamemaker, says in the trailer, cueing Dinklage's entrance as Casca Highbottom. He takes a swig of some booze that's reminiscent of Woody Harrelson's hardened mentor Haymitch Abernathy.

 

 

[Beige]

Looking at this thread, I'm not sure anyone cares.... 

 

And the trailer.....well we have seen it all before surely. I'm not sure what the point of this movie is.

Edited April 28, 2023 by Beige

[Bosco685]

On 4/27/2023 at 8:46 PM, Beige said:

Looking at this thread, I'm not sure anyone cares.... 

 

And the trailer.....well we have seen it all before surely. I'm not sure what the point of this movie is.

Other than it being a prequel, there weren't many details. And it didn't involve comic books, resale value contributions or links to a comic book creator.

We'll see if interest picks up. 

[Axelrod]

I'm trying to think of "prequels" to successful films that ended up being good/successful films themselves.  There must be some since they keep doing it, but, man.

  

 

[Bosco685]

On 4/27/2023 at 9:31 PM, Axelrod said:

I'm trying to think of "prequels" to successful films that ended up being good/successful films themselves.  There must be some since they keep doing it, but, man.

When they work, they work. When they don't it becomes painful to watch as a follow-up film.

I don't agree with all on this list. But here are a few.

The 20 best movie prequels

Bumblebee

Cruella (2021)

Escape from the Planet of the Apes

Monsters University

Puss in Boots

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

The Godfather Part II

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

Wonder Woman (2017)

X-Men: First Class

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I just realized there are at least two lead actors from Disney's Snow White included. Please - don't be an indicator of the quality.

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[Dr. Love]

So let me see if I understand this - Dinklage is against dwarves being cast in roles that actually call for dwarves, but is down for a dwarf being cast in a role that could be played by a person of average stature.

Hulk's head hurts