Posted in: Lionsgate, Movies | Tagged: film, francis lawrence, lionsgate, the hunger games, the hunger games: the ballad of songbirds and snakes

The Hunger Games Director Discusses "The Hanging Tree" Origin

The director of The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds and Snakes is discussing the significance of "The Hanging Tree" in the prequel.

When The Hunger Games franchise initially gained popularity with younger audiences, the film's intentionally somber track "The Hanging Tree" became a highly favored soundtrack moment — even earning an oddly reinterpreted club remix. How unexpectedly versatile! For the new film The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes, audiences have officially received another chance to revisit the popular song upon its original conception with yet another spin.

Now, here's what the director had to say about the song's significance to this brand-new prequel event.

Revealing the Origin of The Hunger Games Song, "The Hanging Tree"

During a recent interview, recurring Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence explains, "I think part of the fun of this and, you know, the sort of origin aspect of this movie is you get to see the origin of "The Hanging Tree." You know, "The Hanging Tree" became such a favorite song from the other movies and with [Jennifer Lawrence] singing it, but you know, when she was doing it, the whole idea is that she's not a performer, she's not a singer, she's just a normal girl who's singing a song that has been passed down through generations." He adds, "Here we get to see, oh, it's actually created by Lucy Gray, right, who's been to a hanging at 'The Hanging Tree.' So we get to see The Hanging Tree in action; we get to see the girl who's writing that song for the first time. You know, and there's even little subtle differences [in both versions of the song]."

The synopsis of The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes: "Experience the story of The Hunger Games — 64 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered as tribute and decades before Coriolanus Snow became the tyrannical President of Panem. The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes follows a young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) who is the last hope for his failing lineage, the once-proud Snow family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With his livelihood threatened, Snow is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from the impoverished District 12. But after Lucy Gray's charm captivates the audience of Panem, Snow sees an opportunity to shift their fates. With everything he has worked for hanging in the balance, Snow unites with Lucy Gray to turn the odds in their favor. Battling his instincts for both good and evil, Snow sets out on a race against time to survive and reveal if he will ultimately become a songbird or a snake.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes is still available in theaters with solid box office numbers if you want to contribute to its franchise stability.

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