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

The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes: Arena Start Called "The Bloodbath"

The beginning of the arena sequence in The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes is known as "the bloodbath."

There is good timing, and then there is the timing that The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes has managed to pull off. It's the kind of timing that marketing teams dream of. It makes it all the more amusing that this timing is being kneecapped because studios like Lionsgate are refusing to pay actors and writers livable wages and won't be able to take advantage of this opportunity. The book Sonybirds & Snakes was released in late 2020 at a time when people not only needed something to do that was a solo activity but also when everyone was looking back at franchises they enjoyed when they were younger. The book did pretty well, but in 2023, it seemed like everyone on TikTok was rereading or reading the books and watching the movies for the first time. While things on TikTok tend to shift fast, the circle means that the interest in Songbirds & Snakes has been high for most of the year. Director Francis Lawrence recently talked about the arena sequence they call "the bloodbath" that Rachel Zegler was getting thrown in, literally and figuratively, as she was going straight from the set of Snow White to the area on the first day of shooting.

"The opening of the games we call 'the bloodbath,'" Lawrence tells Empire, "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."

While the two sets couldn't be more different, there was one aspect of the Snow White production that Zegler would be bringing to Songbirds & Snakes, and that was her beautiful singing voice. Zegler burst on the mainstream scene in West Side Story, and her voice is absolutely stunning. So it's fantastic that we get to hear it during the area scene with Lawrence saying, "It was so emotional to hear the song, which is an a cappella piece that she sings near the end of the arena sequence. I think it stunned everybody." The area scenes are always the most intense parts of these movies and books, and it sounds like Songbirds & Snakes will not be pulling any punches when it comes to that aspect of the games.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes – Summary, Cast List, Release Date

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 directed by Francis Lawrence and stars Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, Jason Schwartzman, and Viola Davis. It is based on a novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins and a screenplay by Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt. It will be released on November 17th.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!