scorecard
  1. Home
  2. entertainment
  3. news
  4. 8 details you may have missed in the latest trailer for 'The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'

8 details you may have missed in the latest trailer for 'The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'

"The Hanging Tree" song is back, but with a deadly origin.

8 details you may have missed in the latest trailer for 'The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'
EntertainmentEntertainment1 min read
We learn the origins of Snow's love for roses in "The Hunger Games" prequel.Lionsgate
  • The second trailer for "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" has been released.
  • The teaser contains nods to big reveals and moments in Suzanne Collins' prequel of the same name.

"The Hanging Tree" song is back, but with a deadly origin.

"The Hanging Tree" song is back, but with a deadly origin.
"The Hanging Tree" song inspiration is seen in "The Hunger Games" prequel trailer. Lucy comes up with the song.      Lionsgate

Fans may recognize "The Hanging Tree" song that plays as the movie's second trailer opens. It's the song Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss Everdeen sang in 2014's "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I."

In "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" book, readers learn the song has a horrifying backstory, written and first performed by Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler).

"After witnessing a man being hanged for multiple murders, she crafts 'The Hanging Tree,'" director Francis Lawrence, who directed three of the original "Hunger Games" movies and returned to direct the prequel, told Entertainment Weekly.

There's a small hint we'll see cannibalism in the prequel.

There
A young Coriolanus Snow witnesses a man appearing to chop off a limb on a corpse to eat.      Lionsgate

Producer Nina Jacobson previously confirmed to Polygon we'll see Coriolanus Snow as a child.

An even younger Coriolanus Snow can be spotted in the trailer looking at a man over, what appears to be, a corpse. If you're wondering what's going on in this scene, it looks like the movie is going to address the cannibalism that is briefly mentioned in the source material.

This is likely a scene from the three-year Panem civil war called The First Rebellion when districts pushed back against the totalitarian rule of the Capitol.

In the book, author Suzanne Collins wrote, "It had been the last year of the war, when the siege had reduced the Capitol to cannibalism and despair. Even the lima beans were running low, and it had been months since anything resembling meat had made its way to their table."

In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, Clemensia is spotted reaching for an assignment in a pile of snakes.

In a blink-and-you
If the movie follows the book, this is, presumably, Clemensia's hand.      Lionsgate

An uncomfortable moment in the prequel comes in chapter seven when one of Snow's peers, Clemensia Dovecote (Ashley Liao), reaches her hand into a tank full of colorful mutated snakes to retrieve an assignment at the behest of Viola Davis' villainous Volumnia Gaul, the Head Gamemaker of The Hunger Games in the prequel series.

Gaul tells the girl if the snakes are familiar with her scent, they'll leave her be. They're not. As the chapter ends, at least six snakes bite into Dovecote.

The description of what happens to her in later chapters is pretty terrifying. It reads: "The snake venom, or the antidote perhaps, had left her golden brown skin peeling and the whites of her eyes the color of egg yolks. But much worse was the twitching that affected her entire body, causing her face to grimace, her tongue to jut periodically from her mouth, and her hands to jerk away..."

There's a subtle reference to Plutarch Heavensbee's ancestry.

There
Peter Dinklage stands in front of the monument.      Lionsgate

Philip Seymour Hoffman played Plutarch Heavensbee, the Head Gamemaker in the 75th Hunger Games.

A plaque referencing his wealthy and well-respected family is briefly seen in the latest trailer behind Peter Dinklage's Casca Highbottom who's involved with the creation of The Hunger Games.

A hall at the Capitol's most prestigious high school is named after the family.

In "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," fans meet Hilarius Heavensbee, one of Snow's fellow peers and a mentor to a Hunger Games tribute from District 8, Wovey.

The trailer shows a small glimpse of Tanner, a District 10 tribute.

The trailer shows a small glimpse of Tanner, a District 10 tribute.
An early favorite to win, Tanner can be spotted in "The Hunger Games" prequel trailer.      Lionsgate

In the book, Tanner wins the adoration of Capitol citizens during his Hunger Games' interview when speaking about slaughterhouse techniques, making him an early favorite to win.

Tanner's briefly seen in the new trailer, played by Kjell Brutscheidt.

Snow's love for white roses is teased in the trailer.

Snow
We learn the origins of Snow's love for roses in "The Hunger Games" prequel.      Lionsgate

Snow offers Lucy a rose upon meeting. In "The Hunger Games" movies, fans learn Snow wears a white rose all the time in order to mask the smell of blood coming from his mouth sores.

In "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," fans learn Snow's love for the flower comes from his mother and grandmother.

His mother, who died during childbirth to Snow's sister, carried around a rose makeup compact. Raised by his grandmother, who's lovingly referred to as Grandma'am, she tended to her own rooftop rose garden.

Coral's trident can be spotted.

Coral
Coral is seen wielding a trident.      Lionsgate

The weapon's favored by the District 4 tribute, played by Mackenzie Lansing ("Mare of Easttown").

Hunter Schafer's character, Tigris Snow, grows up to be the same character who helps Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games" movies.

Hunter Schafer
Hunter Schafer plays Tigris (left) in the prequel film who is later seen in "The Hunger Games" played by Eugenie Bondurant.      Lionsgate; Bruce Glikas/WireImage, Getty Images

Before she was an ally and stylist to Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), Tigris worked her magic on Lucy Gray Baird's looks during the 10th Hunger Games.

She's a bit unrecognizable in the prequel trailer because Tigris hasn't had her extensive body modifications, yet.

Newsletter BI Logo
BI NEWSLETTER

Get your weekly dose of essential news delivered right to you, plus explore a world of insights with our diverse newsletter subscription options.

  • Weekly newsletter
  • Uncover the latest in Tech, Finance, Business, and more
  • Handpicked web stories, in-depth articles, and expert analyses
Copylink BI



Advertisement