Following The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, audiences have many questions that cannot be answered because Suzanne Collins has not written a sequel to the prequel (other than the first three books in the Hunger Games series that take place 64 years later, of course). But the dystopian action novels and films are popular and will continue to be relevant for many years, as evidenced by the Hunger Games resurgence after the 2023 prequel premiered in theaters. So, Collins may be inclined to write more stories in this universe, meaning fans could get a Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes 2 after all.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes chronicled President Coriolanus Snow’s villain origin story. The prequel took viewers back to the year of the 10th Hunger Games when Coriolanus was only 18 years old. He was poor but a promising young Academy student who was chosen to be one of the 24 mentors at the annual Games. Coriolanus was assigned the District 12 female tribute, Lucy Gray Baird. Their story was complex and ended in tragedy. Even though the story answered many questions that fans had before the book was released, the prequel raised more inquiries about The Hunger Games.
10 What Happened To Lucy Gray?
Lucy Gray’s fate is meant to be ambiguous
The first thing that a Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes sequel should address is Lucy Gray Baird’s fate. Near the movie’s end, Lucy Gray and Coriolanus plan to run away together, but he starts to see her as a loose end he needs to get rid of before returning to his life in the Capitol. Lucy Gray tries to run and hide from Coriolanus in the forest as he hunts her and starts shooting at the trees.
It’s unknown if Lucy Gray survived the attack or if Coriolanus killed her. She could have gotten away and escaped to District 13 or died from the elements. Or perhaps he shot and killed her. Unfortunately, Collins admitted in multiple interviews that she left Lucy Gray’s fate up for interpretation on purpose. So, it’s unlikely that fans will ever get a clear answer regarding if Coriolanus killed her or if she escaped his wrath.
Related
Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes Proves There’s A More Interesting Hunger Games Prequel To Make
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes explores the early years of the Hunger Games, but the next prequel could take this even further to be even better.
9 When & How Did Snow Become President Of Panem?
Snow is the president in the original trilogy
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes didn’t end with Coriolanus becoming the president of Panem, meaning that the year he assumed the presidency is still unknown. Also, how he rose to power is unclear. The prequel’s ending reveals that Volumnia Gaul becomes Snow’s mentor and implies she helps him gain respect and power in the Capitol. However, the story doesn’t explain how long it took Snow to rise through the ranks and become the most influential person in Panem, as seen in the first three Hunger Games movies.
8 When Did Tigris Become A Stylist For The Games?
Mockingjay reveals Tigris was a stylist for the Hunger Games
Hunger Games fans met Tigris before The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes premiered because she appeared in Mockingjay – Part 2. However, she looked a little bit different in the fourth film. Tigris was 65 years older than she was in the prequel and had been surgically modified to look like a tiger. Katniss and the surviving members of Squad 451 sought refuge in Tigris’s shop, and Tigris disclosed that she was once a stylist for the Games. It wasn’t until the prequel came out that it was revealed Tigris was Snow’s cousin.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes began with Coriolanus and Tigris as close as ever. They had suffered many tragedies, which had made their bond almost unbreakable. However, once Coriolanus embraced his dark side, Tigris pulled away from her cousin. Despite their strained relationship, Snow eventually hired Tigris as a stylist for the Games, but the timing is unknown.
7 What Happened to Volumnia Gaul?
Gaul’s fate is unclear after the prequel
Like Lucy Gray, Volumnia Gaul’s fate is up for interpretation after the events of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. She likely continued to mentor Snow as a Gamemaker for the Hunger Games and taught him how to be a villain. Whether he ever turned on Dr. Gaul is unknown, but it wouldn’t be surprising if she were one of Snow’s many victims. A possible sequel could answer what came next for Dr. Gaul after the 10th Hunger Games.
6 Is Maude Ivory Katniss’s Grandmother?
A popular theory ties Katniss to the Covey
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes contains many Easter eggs that connect to Katniss Everdeen and the original Hunger Games trilogy, like the music featured in the book and the film. Lucy Gray belonged to the Covey, a group of musical nomads forced to settle in the Seam in District 12. Lucy wrote many of their songs, including “The Hanging Tree” and “Deep in the Meadow,” which Katniss later sang.
The original books reveal that Katniss’s father taught her those songs, meaning someone had to teach them to him since music had been banned in District 12. Consequentially, a popular theory arose from the prequel that Maude Ivory Baird, Lucy Gray’s cousin, was Katniss’s father’s mother, making her the Mockingjay’s grandmother. Another Hunger Games story could either confirm or deny this theory.
Related
A Popular Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes Theory Has Even Bigger Implications For Hunger Games Than You Think
Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes inspired a theory regarding Lucy Gray and Alma Coin, but this connection with The Hunger Games can be taken further.
5 When Did Caesar Flickerman Take Over As The Host Of The Games?
Caeser Flickerman is likely Lucky Flickerman’s son
Although The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes never confirms that Lucky Flickerman, the original host of the Hunger Games, was Caesar Flickerman’s father, it’s likely true. Caesar was the infamous host of the annual Games when Katniss and Peeta first became tributes, and he probably had the job for many years before then. However, the exact timing of the passing of the torch from Lucky to Caesar is unknown.
4 How Were The 11th Hunger Games Different?
Mags won the Games after Lucy Gray
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes implies that the Gamemakers would make many changes to the Hunger Games following the disaster that was the 10th Games. Obviously, the 10th Games significantly differed from the 74th Games when Katniss and Peeta were first tributes. But it would be interesting to see the process of how the Gamemakers made horrific changes to the annual event. More specifically, learning about the 11th Games (the one that Mags from District 4 won) would be an intriguing premise for a Hunger Games story.
3 Did The Plinths Ever Learn The Truth Behind Sejanus’s Death?
Coriolanus had a hand in Sejanus’s death
Although Coriolanus wasn’t holding the noose that snapped Sejanus Plinth’s neck, his actions led to his “friend’s” death in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Coriolanus outed Sejanus as a traitor, which resulted in his execution at the Hanging Tree in District 12. After Coriolanus returned to the Capitol, Sejanus’s parents appointed him as their heir, which is horrifying given Coriolanus’s role in their son’s death. The Plinths may have one day learned the truth behind Sejanus’s execution, or they went to their grave unaware. Whatever the case, the prequel doesn’t answer this question.
2 When Did Snow Fire Tigris?
Snow eventually fired Tigris as a stylist
As mentioned above, Snow hired his cousin to be a stylist for the Hunger Games following the events of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. During this time, Tigris began surgically modifying her appearance, which, as she revealed in Mockingjay, disgusted Snow. He claimed Tigris was too ugly and fired her, further fueling her hatred towards her cousin (and leading her to help Katniss). However, the timeline surrounding Tigris’s firing is unclear.
Related
What Happened To Every Surviving Hunger Games Character After Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes
Though The Hunger Games prequel didn’t show it, here is what happened to every surviving character in The Ballads of Songbirds & Snakes.
1 How Many More People Did Snow Kill With Poison?
Coriolanus kills Casca Highbottom at the end of the prequel
The prequel’s ending features Coriolanus poisoning Casca Highbottom, the dean of the Academy and co-creator of the Hunger Games. Highbottom felt immense guilt for his role in creating the Games and blamed Coriolanus’s father, Crassus. Crassus took his drunken idea and made the Games a reality (something Highbottom never wanted). As a result, Highbottom resented Coriolanus, and the dean later became the future president’s first poisoning.
Finnick Odair revealed in Mockingjay that President Snow was notorious for poisoning those who opposed him. But he drank the poison (and the antidote) afterward to throw suspicion off himself. Snow probably killed numerous people in the years between The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Mockingjay, but his total kill count is unknown.
