Suzanne Collins’ gripping and deeply immersive novels, belonging to the esteemed Hunger Games series, have sold over 100 million copies worldwide and the respective films have grossed nearly $3.3 billion. So, as one might imagine, when Collins announced the release of a prequel starring the young, infamous President Snow, both the novel and the film had a lot to live up to.
In May 2020, “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” flooded bookstores near and far, drawing in large crowds of Hunger Games fans who were eager to devour the book and then write up passionate reviews. Through Goodreads comments and Rotten Tomato ratings, it was clear that reviewers believed the adaptation to be an astounding success.
The original Hunger Games series follows a young girl, Katniss Everdeen, and her fellow tribute, Peeta Mellark. Both are residents of District 12, one of the most poverty-stricken districts in the country of Panem. They are selected as the male and female tributes for their District to compete in the annual Hunger Games, where they are forced to fight to the death, until only one victor remains. In this trilogy, the Capitol of Panem and its people are depicted as sadistic and mindlessly wealthy, especially their powerful leader, President Snow. However, while Collins provides a backstory for many of her characters, the same cannot be said about Snow. His lack of backstory makes him a rather puzzling antagonist and leads many readers to question his motivations.
In the prequel (“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”), we are taken back many years to when Cornelius Snow is a young man finishing school, while also mentoring a tribute for the first time. His tribute is a gifted young girl from District 12, Lucy Gray Baird, who has a rather eccentric side and a strong passion for singing. The two develop an intimate relationship, and demonstrate how they’re more than willing to sacrifice themselves for one another. However, this doesn’t last long, for Snow chooses his strong desire for power over his love for Lucy Gray. The story follows Snow through his journey starting off as an innocent young man, and transforming into a villain who does everything in his power to hide his dark secrets and cover up his vile tracks.
Collins did a notable job of matching up the writing style of this novel with that of her previous books, causing the series to flow well altogether. Additionally, she provided a heart-wrenching, violent, and at times, infuriating backstory for Snow that satisfied the majority of her readers. She was able to do so through the inclusion of several romantic yet emotional scenes, surprisingly dark but powerful portions of the novel, and complex characters such as Dr. Gaul and Tigris Snow who made the story all the better.
The film producers wasted no time and sent the movie adaptation to theaters three years later in November 2023. This two and a half hour film follows the storyline of the novel extremely closely, allowing the audience to truly become immersed in the visions they formed while reading the book. Actors Tom Blyth and Rachel Zelger, who took on the lead roles of Cornelius and Lucy Gray, portrayed these characters impressively, from the inside out. Not only were their appearances, body language, and personalities well matched to that of Collins’ original characters, but their actions, bone-chilling screams, and the pained looks in their eyes gave the story raw emotion, taking this film to a new level.
Aside from the notable casting, the director, Francis Lawrence, also incorporated music, specific lines and details from the novel that added flavor to the movie, and set designs that not only matched up with the descriptions in the novel, but also added much immersiveness to the film watching experience. All of these elements contributed to the overall success of the film.
Because the book and movie adaptation of “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” was such a triumph, Collins is currently in the works of writing a second prequel to the Hunger Games series, “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on The Reaping.” This much-anticipated novel follows Katniss’ and Peeta’s mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, through his life-changing experience in the games. This book is expected to release on March 18, 2025, with a film adaptation following in 2026.
