Ballad is the fifth installment in the Hunger Games film series, which has amassed almost $3 billion worldwide and boasts four of the top five highest-grossing films in Lionsgate history. As well as returning to Panem, fans can look forward to a new cast and new characters, too. From the cast members involved in Ballad to when it will be released, here’s everything fans of the franchise need to know about the upcoming movie.

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Ballad is set 64 years before the events of the Hunger Games series, around the time of the 10th annual Hunger Games. President Snow is not yet the tyrannical leader of Panem that viewers have come to hate, but 18-year-old Coriolanus “Coryo” Snow, whose life is somewhat tragic. His once-proud family has fallen on hard times, and he is their last hope of redemption.

As one of the top-performing students of Panem’s Academy — an elite secondary school in the Capitol for wealthy children — Snow thinks he’s found his lucky break when he’s selected to mentor a tribute chosen to compete in the 10th Hunger Games. However, his hopes are dashed when he discovers his mentee is Lucy Gray Baird from the impoverished District 12, home to Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen. Fortunately, Lucy also shares Katniss’ rebellious spirit, and once Snow sees this for himself, he starts to think he might be able to turn the odds in their favor.

Tom Blyth will play 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow, the younger version of Donald Sutherland’s President Snow in the original Hunger Games movies. Blyth is best known for playing the titular character of the epic adventure series Billy the Kid, and has alsostarred in Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood and Terence Davies’ Benediction. Rachel Zegler will play Lucy Gray Baird, Snow’s mentee and the female tribute from District 12. Zegler made her film debut as Maria Vasquez in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story adaptation in 2021, a role which won her the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy.

Joining them are Zegler’s West Side Story co-star Josh Andrés Rivera as Sejanus Plinth, a close friend of young Snow; and Viola Davis (The Help, Fences) as Dr. Volumnia Gaul, the villainous head game maker. Hunter Schafer (Euphoria, Belle) will play Tigris, Snow’s older cousin played by Eugenie Bondurant in Mockingjay Part 2. Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore, The French Dispatch) appears as Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman, the host of the 10th Hunger Games and ancestor of Stanley Tucci’s Caesar Flickerman.

The film will also feature Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones, Cyrano) as Casca Highbottom, the dean of the Academy; Laurel Marsden (Survive, Ms. Marvel) as Mayfair Lipp, the daughter of District 12’s Mayor Lipp; and Nick Benson (Best Player, Boo, Bitch) as Jessup Diggs, the male tribute from District 12. Many, many more new faces will appear among this star-studded cast as well.

Francis Lawrence, the director of the Hunger Games sequels Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part 1, and Mockingjay Part 2​​​​​, returns to direct Ballad. Lawrence also directed the Will Smith sci-fi I Am Legend, the Robert Pattinson/Reese Witherspoon romance drama Water for Elephants, and the Jennifer Lawrence thriller Red Sparrow.

Suzanne Collins and Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine, Catching Fire) will return to write the screenplay for Ballad, alongside Michael Lesslie (Macbeth, Assassin’s Creed). Franchise producers Nina Jacobsen and Brad Simpson will also return for the movie. Suzanne Collins, Tim Palen, and Jim Miller will serve as executive producers, with Lionsgate distributing Ballad, as it did the original four Hunger Games movies. In an interview with Deadline, Collins expresses her joy over working with the film studio again:

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is scheduled for theatrical release on 17 November 2023. It was around this time of year that the Hunger Games sequels were also released. DreamWorks’ Trolls 3 and John Krasinski’s directed If are set to be released on the same day.

“From the beginning, they have treated the source material with great respect, honoring the thematic and narrative elements of the story, and assembling an incredible team both in front of and behind the camera.”

Fans may have a long time to wait for the film, but anticipation and hype will only build. In the meantime, it’s the perfect opportunity to read the book for those who haven’t yet, or to rewatch and/or reread the original Hunger Games material.

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