The Hunger Games movies that starred Jennifer Lawrence introduced us to the evil President Snow who runs Panem's barbaric television show that makes kids kill each other for survival. If you’re curious about how Panem’s president turned into the sinister man we know him to be, the franchise’s director Francis Lawrence returned for the book-adapted prequel film to answer that question for us. However, the team behind The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was initially “concerned” about making a movie about a fan-hated character.
It can be very adventurous to make a movie about a well-known villain’s roots as audiences will be more sympathetic to them than spiteful. The Star Wars prequels focused on a young Vader whose darkness started when he left his mother for Jedi training, only for her to die in his arms when he returned to her. In EW’s cover story about the Hunger Games prequel, director Francis Lawrence admitted he and producer Nina Jacobson were “concerned” about making a movie centered on President Snow’s background considering what a sadistic villain he was in the successful franchise. Still, this team knew it was strong storytelling to inform audiences that you’re not born a bad guy. There’s something that motivates a villain to become one.
One thing that absolutely helped The Hunger Games team make the Suzanne Collins adapted book sequel into a compelling story was its casting. British actor Tom Blyth, cast as the movie’s young President Snow, had Nina Jacobson raving about why he was the perfect fit for the role.
Tom is extraordinary as the turn happens. As he starts to break bad, as you start to see the man that he becomes breaking out of the shell of the man that he might’ve been, it’s incredibly gratifying.
Something important to know about The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is the plot follows a young Cornelius Snow during the 10th annual Hunger Games. Set 60 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered, 18-year-old Snow was an Academy student whose family fell hard on finances after the first civil war. While he’s after a cash prize given to the mentor of a winning victor, Snow pushes himself to train Lucy Gray Baird, played by Rachel Zegler, who uses her musical talent to wow Panem. And like District 12 victors Katniss and Peeta had a complicated romance during The Game’s reign, so did Cornelius and Lucy.
Francis Lawrence said Tom Blyth “blew everyone out of the water” with his audition tape. It also helped that his resemblance to older President Snow actor Donald Sutherland and his chemistry with Zegler further cemented the deal. But the franchise’s director had one request for the 28-year-old actor.
I didn’t want him to study early Donald Sutherland performances. I didn’t want it to be mimicry in any way. I wanted him to play the part in the way that he would play the part.
That’s very good advice, as you don’t want to feel like you’re playing Donald Sutherland playing President Snow. Actors want to create a character based on the guidance of the script and director. While Lawrence and Sutherland knew the character of President Snow was a villain, they felt the Panem president was more complex than that. Essentially, all villains believe that their ways of thinking are the truth even if they come off as sadistic to the masses. Like the philosophy of many prequels, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes gives audiences the origins of why original characters became the way they did and how.
The Hunger Games team may have had “concerns” about making a movie about a villain’s backstory, but telling this story will pique audiences’ curiosities about how and why President Snow became the villainous foe he turned into. Before you catch the 2023 movie release of the prequel in theaters on November 17th, you can prepare yourself by watching The Hunger Games movies free on YouTube.
