If you know anything about Panem, the dystopian setting of The Hunger Games series, then you know that it’s not the type of place that's easy to survive in. Throughout the first four movies in franchise, fans saw Katniss Everdeen, her friends and foes fight in numerous arenas. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that we’ll see more fighting in the prequel film, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. Still, it sounds like the "bloodbath" sequence that Rachel Zegler’s character participates in during the upcoming prequel was especially difficult to bring to life.
In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the actress plays Lucy Gray, a District 12 citizen who has the unlucky fortune of being reaped as one of 24 Tributes for a yearly tribunal that pits children against each other in a fight to the death. And if the early details about the film are any indication, that battle will be especially merciless. Director Francis Lawrence told Empire Magazine that the struggles that Rachel Zegler’s character faces in the film are so intense, they took a real-life toll on the actress:
The opening of the games we call ‘the bloodbath,’ and that’s exactly what she had to jump into right away… She was leaving [the set] bruised pretty much every day, but those fighter qualities came in.
According to the filmmaker, Rachel Zegler had only recently wrapped Snow White when filming for The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes began. One would think that must have made it even more challenging to jump right into battle as Lucy Gray. Personally, I don't envy her for having to make the leap into something that sounds so daunting. But it sounds like she was up for the task, and maybe there's no better way to start your life as a Hunger Games actor than jumping right into the action.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes: Release Date And Other Things We Know
Just because her character will be fighting in an arena doesn't mean Songbirds & Snakes will be a repeat of The Hunger Games, though. The prequel takes place several decades before the exploits of Katniss Everdeen, so fans can expect the titular event to look quite a bit different than they’re used to. In fact, even though Lucy and Katniss are both District 12 Tributes, Lucy has been described as the “anti-Katniss” in some ways.
That’s just one of the significant differences between the earlier film series and the prequel. While the prequel won’t feature most of the main cast of the original HG films, it will show us younger versions of some pivotal characters, including Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) and Tigris (Hunter Schafer).
Like its predecessors The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay – Part 1 and Part 2, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is a book-to-film adaptation based on Suzanne Collins’ 2020 novel. It’s also one of the most highly anticipated 2023 new movie releases. It'll be exciting to see how Rachel Zegler holds her own in the film, and I'm now both eager and nervous to see more of this supposed "bloodbath" scene.
We’ll see what Lucy is made of and how her story sets up the events of The Hunger Games when the film hits theaters on November 17. You can also prepare yourself by streaming the first four films in the franchise on YouTube for free.
