The following piece was written during the 2023 Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie material being covered here wouldn’t exist.

Genre: Dystopian Science Fiction

Release Date: 17 November 2023

Director: Francis Lawrence

Screenplay Writers: Michael Lesslie & Michael Arndt

Distributed by: Lionsgate Films

Production Companies: Colour Force & Good Universe

Cast: Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, Jason Schwartzman & Viola Davis

Did You Know?

This movie is based on a book by the same name that was written by Suzanne Collins. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a dystopian action-adventure novel by American author Suzanne Collins. It is a spin-off and a prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy. It was released on May 19, 2020, by Scholastic. 

Plot

Experience the story of The Hunger Games, 64 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered as tribute, and decades before Coriolanus Snow became the tyrannical President of Panem.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes follows a young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) 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 (Rachel Zegler), 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 favor. 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.

Catch the trailer online and get ready to return to the Hunger Games!

Following the news from Deadline of Greg Berlanti (Arrow, Love, Simon) signing a massive exclusive deal with Warner Bros, it seems he’s rounding out his cast for his upcoming film with Apple. Coming from a separate exclusive from Deadline, Woody Harrelson (True Detective, Natural Born Killers) will join the cast of Project Artemis. 

The three-time Oscar nominee joins an already exciting cast that will be led by Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson. Additionally, Ray Romano and Jim Rash are expected to play important supporting roles in 60s set film that takes place during the space race. Berlanti is best known for setting most of DC’s television universe that includes shows such as Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Superman & Lois, Titans and Doom Patrol. He also serves as an executive producer on other popular Warner Bros. streaming series such as You and The Flight Attendant. Project Artemis marks Berlanti’s first collaboration with Apple.

Harrelson is coming off leading roles in Netflix’s The Man from Toronto alongside Kevin Hart and the indie film, Triangle of Sadness in 2022. He recently wrapped filming Suncoast with Laura Linney but will be seen this year in film and television. First, the actor will star in Bobby Farrelly’s sports dramedy, Champions before returning to HBO to star in the Watergate-set miniseries, The White House Plumbers with Justin Theroux. Both the film and series will release in March.

With much of the talk surrounding Henry Cavill regarding his exit from Netflix’s The Witcher along with the shift of mentality from new DC Studios leadership, the actor is in need of a new franchise to jumpstart. It appears that Cavill has done just that with the latest news that comes from The Hot Mic podcast via Above the Line.

It appears that Cavill (Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice) will steer head an adaptation of Warhammer 40,000 for Amazon Prime Video. Cavill confirmed the news this morning via his Instagram. The property started as a miniature war game akin to Dungeons & Dragons where players control different characters across a battle board, so to speak. The game was a staple in England where Cavill played it much as a kid and his passion for the property has stuck ever since. So much so, that the actor still paints figures to this day for when he engages in play.

The property which is often abbreviated to Warhammer 40K, features a fictional war set 40,000 years into the future between humans and other mystical beings that include orcs, gods, demons, elves, aliens and supernatural entities. The game eventually was brought to the video game space where it amasses tons of players across the sci-fi fantasy gaming landscape. The property also lends itself to novels leaving a lot of room to grow as a franchise in the entertainment space with lore to play with.

Amazon continues to take steps towards building out large franchise plays for their streaming service, Prime Video. In addition to the acquisition of the rights to Warhammer 40,000, the streamer has recently made deals for video game properties like God of War, with creators like Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House) and of course, a 2022 that was massive for the streamer with the launches of the pricey Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and Thursday Night Football. As they look to compete with Netflix, Disney+ and other streaming services, it’s a clear shift from Amazon to take some bigger risks for bigger rewards. 

Cavill was most recently seen reprising his role as Sherlock Holmes in Netflix’s Enola Holmes 2 starring Millie Bobby Brown. In 2023, Cavill will star in Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle which aims to kickstart a new spy-based franchise similar to Mission: Impossible which Cavill also appeared in. He will star in Argylle alongside an all-star cast that includes Catherine O’Hara, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Cena, Ariana DeBose and Dua Lipa.