The Hunger Games movies ended up grossing over $3 billion worldwide, and ahead of its release in book form on May 19th, it's now been confirmed that filmmaker Francis Lawrence will return to the director's chair for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Producer Nina Jacobson will also return after producing all previous big screen adaptations of Suzanne Collins' hit series of novels, and the author is actually going to be penning the film's treatment. Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3), meanwhile, is set to adapt the screenplay, and he's no stranger to The Hunger Games after contributing to Catching Fire.
The spinoff focuses on Coriolanus Snow at age 18, years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem. Young Coriolanus is handsome and charming, and though the Snow family has fallen on hard times, he sees a chance for a change in his fortunes when he is chosen to be a mentor for the Tenth Hunger Game.
However, his elation dashed when he is assigned to mentor the girl tribute from impoverished District 12.
"Lionsgate has always been the cinematic home of The Hunger Games, and I’m delighted to be returning to them with this new book," said Collins. "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."
"It’s such a pleasure to be reuniting with Nina, Francis, and Michael to adapt the novel to the screen, and having them share their remarkable talents, once again, with the world of Panem," she continues. "I look forward to collaborating with them and all at Lionsgate as we bring The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes to theaters worldwide."
Are you guys excited for this prequel?