The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, The Hunger Games prequel, follows 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow and his life before he became the tyrannical President of Panem. We will be seeing younger versions of some characters from The Hunger Games and new faces. So, who stars in The Hunger Games prequel? Meet the cast of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes!
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Cast & Characters
Here are the cast and characters in The Hunger Games prequel:
Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow
Tom Blyth stars as Coriolanus "Coryo" Snow, a mentor for the 10th Hunger Games who gets assigned to District 12’s tribute, Lucy Gray Baird. The Hunger Games prequel shows Coriolanus Snow’s life before he became the tyrannical President of Panem.
Talking about Tom Blyth’s role in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, director Francis Lawrence said:
“Coriolanus Snow is many things — a survivor, a loyal friend, a cutthroat, a kid quick to fall in love, and a young man ambitious to his core. Tom’s take on the character showed us all the complex ambiguities of this young man as he transforms into the tyrant he would become.”
Before The Hunger Games prequel, Tom Blyth appeared in the films Scott and Sid and Benediction and the series Billy the Kid and The Gilded Age.
Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird
Rachel Zegler joins The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes cast as Lucy Gray Baird, the tribute from District 12 who forms a close relationship with Snow. Lucy Gray Baird is also a member of the Covey, a traveling musician group.
Rachel Zegler is known for her role as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story. She also starred as Anthea in Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Peter Dinklage as Casca Highbottom
Peter Dinklage joins the cast of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes as Casca Highbottom, the creator of The Hunger Games and Dean of the Academy, a secondary school for the wealthy.
Talking about Casca Highbottom, director Lawrence said:
“Dean Highbottom is one of the most powerful people in Snow’s life. As the austere and vindictive face of the games, he sets the rules that will determine every aspect of Coriolanus’s fate.”
Peter Dinklage is best known for his role as Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones, for which he won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series four years in a row.
Dinklage also starred in the films Elf, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Avengers: Infinity War. He also voiced Scourge in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
Viola Davis as Dr. Volumnia Gaul
Viola Davis stars as Dr. Volumnia Gaul, the head gamemaker of the 10th Hunger Games. According to producer Nina Jacobson, Dr. Gaul is a “brilliant and eccentric strategist” who’s “instrumental in shaping a young Coriolanus Snow into the man he will become.”
Talking about Viola Davis’ character, director Lawrence said:
“Dr. Gaul is as cruel as she is creative and as fearsome as she is formidable. Snow’s savvy as a political operator develops in no small part due to his experiences with her as the games’ most commanding figure.”
Viola Davis starred in various films and television series, including The Woman King, How to Get Away with Murder, Air, Fences, and Suicide Squad. Davis won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Fences.
She also received Oscar nominations for her roles in Doubt, The Help, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
Hunter Schafer as Tigris Snow
Hunter Schafer joins The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes cast as Tigris Snow, Coriolanus’ cousin who would later become a stylist and ally to Katniss Everdeen. Hunter Schafer is best known for her role as Jules Vaughn in the series Euphoria.
Josh Andrés Rivera as Sejanus Plinth
Josh Andrés Rivera joins the cast of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes as Sejanus Plinth, Snow’s close friend and a mentor to a District 2 tribute. Josh Andrés Rivera starred alongside Zegler in West Side Story.
Jason Schwartzman as Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman
Jason Schwartzman stars as Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman, the host of the 10th Hunger Games and ancestor to Caesar Flickerman, the host of later editions of the Games.
Jason Schwartzman has collaborated multiple times with Wes Anderson in his films, including Rushmore, The French Dispatch, and Asteroid City. He also starred in the anthology series Fargo and voiced the Spot in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Other cast members of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes include:
- Fionnula Flanagan as Grandma'am
- Burn Gorman as Commander Hoff
- Ashley Liao as Clemensia Dovecote
- Max Raphael as Festus Creed
- Zoe Renée as Lysistrata Vickers
- Lilly Cooper as Arachne Crane
- Aamer Husain as Felix Ravinstill
- Nick Benson as Jessup
- Isobel Jesper Jones as Mayfair Lipp
- George Somner as Spruce
- Sofia Sanchez as Wovey
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Cameos: Will Katniss and Peeta Be in The Hunger Games Prequel?
Considering that The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes place 64 years before The Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta are not in the movie.
In an interview with The New York Times, Jennifer Lawrence shared her initial reaction to the prequel. She said:
“That makes me feel old as mold. I remember being 21 and thinking, ’My God, one day they’ll redo and remake them. But I’ll be so old by then! I’ll be dead!’”
And while she won’t appear in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Lawrence shared her advice for the cast:
"You guys are going to have the best time. Just have fun — don't worry about anything."
You can watch the trailer for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes below:
READ NEXT: How Old Is Snow During The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes?
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