Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes releases trailer

The tense trailer opens with Davis's Head Gamemaker Volumnia Gaul introducing the creator of the Hunger Games, which obviously queues the arrival of Dinklage's Casca Highbottom, Dean of the Academy.

We're then introduced to tribute Lucy Gray Baird (Zegler) and her mentor Coriolanus Snow (Blyth), who later becomes the evil president from the Hunger Games films, portrayed as an older man by Donald Sutherland.

In the trailer, the young mentor is told by Casca: "Your role is to turn these children into spectacles, not survivors."

Lucy, who draws very close similarities to the original movie's Katniss Everdeen (played by Jennifer Lawrence), commands attention as soon as she takes the stage and even curtseys the crowd in a similar fashion to Katniss. "You really want to take care of me in that arena? Start by thinking I can actually win," she tells her mentor.

Watch the new trailer below.

We also get our first glimpses of Euphoria's Hunter Schafer as the much younger Tigris, the cousin of Coriolanus Snow, and Josh Andrés Rivera as Sejanus Plinth.

We're also introduced briefly to Jason Schwartzman as Lucretius "Lucky" Flickerman, the first host of the Hunger Games. He is also an ancestor of Caesar Flickerman, who many will recognise as being portrayed by Stanley Tucci in the original film series.

While it's been a staggering eight years since the Hunger Games' final film was released, fans will be pleased to know that this new film will be hitting our screens later this year. It will debut across the UK on 17th November 2023.

The prequel film is based on Suzanne Collins's novel of the same name, and tells the story based in Panem 64 years before the events of The Hunger Games, focusing on the younger years of antagonist Coriolanus Snow.

Read more:

• Joe Russo gives update on making new Hercules "for a modern audience"
• Rebecca Ferguson teases "dark and gritty" Dune Part 2

As per the official film synopsis: "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes follows a young Coriolanus 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, 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 favour.

"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 movie's producer Nina Jacobson has teased that fans are certainly in for a treat with this new film, which will show a new side of Panem.

She said in a previous interview with Vanity Fair: "To be able to show a different side of Panem at a different time in its history has been really exciting. It’s completely different stylistically, in terms of design, character, and point of view."

Similarly, the movie’s director Francis Lawrence added: "Suzanne has done such a great job of going back into the mythology and telling a story about the creation of the world.

"You get a little background of Katniss. You will obviously get a lot of the background of Snow, the history of the Games, the history of some of the music, where songs like The Hanging Tree actually come from."

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is released on 17th November 2023.

For more, check out our dedicated Movies page or our full TV Guide.

Try Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only £1 with delivery to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.