The Hunger Games franchise was a sensation when it was released, both the books and the Jennifer Lawrence-led movies. Moviegoers will soon return to the world of Panem with the prequel film The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which features a young President Snow. The movie is fast approaching, and Songbirds and Snakes’ rating makes the action sound brutal. And honestly, I’m here for it.
The concept for The Hunger Games is pretty disturbing. While its a young adult property, the titular tournament sees young people from Panem fighting to the death, with only one champion making it out alive. The beginning of each game is usually a massacre, but the movie franchise isn’t known for extreme violence. But the official MPA Film Rating for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (read what we know about the movie here) teased that this might be changing in the prequel. It reads:
Rated PG-13 for strong violent content and disturbing material.
Strong violent content you say? I’m in. While I’m excited to dive back into the Hunger Games franchise in the upcoming movie, it sounds like the action might be more brutal than in previous installments. Which I think is actually quite appropriate given the fact that the titular games are violent by nature.
The contents of the Hunger Games prequel are still largely a mystery, although those who have read the book of the same name might have a heads up on what’s going to go down. But the trailer for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes definitely teased the “disturbing” material referenced in its rating, including a giant vat of snakes being dropped on the tributes. And that’s not considering the violence that presumably happens amongst the various young tributes who are fighting for their lives.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Director: Francis Lawrence
Writer: Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt
Cast: Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth, Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman
Release Date/Platform: November 17th in theaters.
Seeing the actual games play out has historically been a thrilling part of the Hunger Games franchise, with the first two movies of the franchise showing off very different rules and settings. From the looks of the limited footage, Songbirds and Snakes will feature an indoor version of the games, which would be a big change from the previous two we’ve seen. And I’m eager to see how it might be connected to what eventually goes down when Katniss volunteers as tribute.
While some fans have been hoping to see Jennifer Lawrence cameo on The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the time setting of the prequel makes that seem unlikely. But there’s obviously a connection between the new movie and its predecessors, with Rachel Zegler even singing “The Hanging Tree” song during the trailers. And who knows? Maybe one of the new characters will actually be related to Katniss.
I might sound like a crazy person for being so excited about Songbirds and Snakes’ “strong violent content”, but I just think it’s going to add to the stakes of the upcoming blockbuster. And if the movie does well at the box office, perhaps we’ll get to see more Pandem adventures on the big screen… including all the brutality that comes with the Hunger Games.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will hit theaters on November 17th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
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Khushi Patel is a science fiction author who lives in Austin, Texas. She has published three novels, and her work has been praised for its originality and imagination. Khushi is a graduate of Rice University, and she has worked as a software engineer. She is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and her books have been nominated for several awards.
