During a recent virtual press conference for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, lead star Rachel Zegler revealed why she didn’t felt the need to study Jennifer Lawrence‘s performances as Katniss Everdeen to prepare for the role of Lucy Gray Baird.
Even though both are District 12 tributes, Zegler sees Katniss and Lucy Gray as complete different characters in terms of how they’ve handled their time in the arena.
“When it came to the approach of Lucy Gray, I kind of felt like I didn’t have to [Katniss],” Zegler said (via ComicBook). “I came to what Tom [Blyth] was saying, it kind of puts an unnecessary pressure because it’s a different character and a different time of Panem. And I feel like Lucy Gray is a war-torn teenager who’s had everything she knows ripped from her yet she’s still making the best of it. She’s very persuasive in her performance and very good at getting an audience on her side. So it was very fun to play that.”
However, the Golden Globe winner acknowledged that there are certain “elements of Katniss” that reside within Lucy Gray. This is why President Snow is so bothered and intrigue by Katniss in the original films.
“I do think that there’s elements of Katniss within her and that makes it all the more fun to go back and watch the original trilogy and kind of see how Snow remains haunted by Lucy Gray even in his later life because there are echoes of her within Katniss Everdeen,” Zegler said on Lucy Gray’s connection with Katniss.
Who’s in The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes?
Based on the 2020 prequel novel by Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes places several decades before the events of the Hunger Games trilogy, where an 18-year-old Snow gets assigned to mentor District 12’s tribute girl at the Tenth Hunger Games. Joining Zegler and Blyth are Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman, Josh Andrés Rivera, Max Raphael, Zoe Renee, Ayomide Adegun, Kaitlyn Akinpelumi, Amelie Hoeferle, Sofia Sanchez, Nick Benson, Laurel Marsden, Lilly Cooper, Luna Steeples, and more.
“It follows a young Coriolanus 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, a tribute from the impoverished District 12,” reads the synopsis. “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.”
The film is directed and produced by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay written by Michael Lesslie based on a draft by Collins and Michael Arndt. It hails from franchise producer Nina Jacobson and her producing partner Brad Simpson, with Collins, Tim Palen, and Jim Miller serving as executive producers.
The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes will arrive in theaters this Friday, November 17.
