Francis Lawrence, the filmmaker of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, claims that the prequel film’s running duration is greater than that of earlier films in the series. Lionsgate is bringing back The Hunger Games franchise with an adaptation of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a prequel that follows a young Coriolanus Snow, following the popularity of the main Hunger Games trilogy in the middle of the 2010s. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes movie, whose release date has been set for 2020, started filming earlier this year and wrapped up principal photography in November. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes won’t hit theatres until 2023, but viewers know roughly how long the film will be.
The prequel movie, according to Lawrence, will likely be the longest of all the films when he spoke with Collider. This will be the outcome of the extensive filming schedule, which was about eight days longer than each schedule for the two parts of Mockingjay even if it was shorter than that of Catching Fire. See what Lawrence had to say about The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ running time below:
“We were scheduled for 85 days. We got a day ahead, so we did it in 84 days, which is shorter than Catching Fire, but longer than each of the Mocking Jays. So it was in between because we shot the Mocking Jays together for 155 days, which ends up being 77-ish days apiece. So it was a little longer than each of the Mocking Jays, but shorter than Catching Fire. It definitely will be the longest of all the movies.”
What Will Set The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes Apart From The Hunger Games
The prequel trilogy for Star Wars and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes could both transform audiences’ perceptions of the Hunger Games. This means that the main focus will be on creating a villain. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes could provide insight into how the future president of the 13 Districts evolved into the infamous monster that fans have come to know and love, much like how the Star Wars prequels traced Anakin Skywalker’s journey toward the evil side of the Force. The book tells the backstory of President Coriolanus Snow and follows him when, at the age of 18, he is chosen to be the young mentor of Lucy Gray Baird, a District 12 girl, during the 10th Annual Hunger Games.
This opens up new opportunities for the series, giving Lawrence the option to showcase not only a different side of Snow with a tale rife with potential tragedy and trauma but also a different aspect of the games. Lawrence will have the chance to experiment with political intrigue clichés and tackle subjects that have never been thoroughly explored in the franchise by using Snow’s mentorship tale as a springboard. It’s simple enough to set up the basic plot. Still, in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Lawrence takes on a larger role, establishes new characters, and gives readers a fresh perspective on the major antagonist from the first Hunger Games film series.
Lawrence has the cinematic chance to give the antagonist the same level of depth and complexity as he gave the protagonist in Collins’ novel and the world, which is full of complicated characters and huge lore. Character development was the original series’ strongest aspect, whether it was with protagonist Katniss Everdeen, enemy-turned-ally Finnick Odair, or Coriolanus Snow himself. This information about The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ running time might be proof that adequate time and effort were invested in creating the character’s depth.