How The New Hunger Games Movie Will Avoid Common Franchise Problems Explained By Producer

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will avoid a common franchise mistake. Based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins, the upcoming Hunger Games prequel follows the story of the 10th Hunger Games. It tracks an 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blythe), who eventually becomes President Snow in the original The Hunger Games trilogy, as he comes of age in the Capitol and becomes a mentor to District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler). The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes cast also includes Hunter Schafer (Tigris), Viola Davis (Dr. Volumnia Gaul), and Peter Dinklage (Dean Casca Highbottom).

Producer Nina Jacobson explains to Polygon how The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will eschew one major issue with franchises. According to her, there can be no Hunger Games movies without author Suzanne Collins writing another book. As a result, future Hunger Games movies will avoid glomming onto a “fan favorite” character for a spinoff. Check out the full quote from Jacobson below:

You could have gone with a fan favorite [character] — ‘Let’s do Haymitch’s story! Or do Finnick’s games! — but that would be doing it to do it. If [Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins] had a story in this world with something she wanted to talk about, something to explore, then great. But if not, better to leave a franchise as something people feel fondly about rather than crank out a sequel for the sake of a sequel.

Why The Hunger Games Is Right Not to Create Endless Spinoffs

Like the original movies, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is based on a Collins novel prequel of the same name. Released in 2020, the prequel book was the first new Hunger Games book in over a full decade after the trilogy ended with Mockingjay in 2010. But long before the prequel book had dropped, Lionsgate had plans for spinoffs that would expand the Hunger Games universe, with reports tracing back to 2017. However, no production updates ever came to fruition, which makes sense now, given Jacobson’s comments about spinoffs and sequels.

As other franchises, such as Harry Potter with the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them prequel series, are trying to milk their successful content into multiple spinoffs, it would be tempting for The Hunger Games to go in the same direction. In particular, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire seemingly set the breeding ground for this type of spinoff by introducing previous victors. With the Third Quarter Quell inviting tributes who have won other games, spinoffs about characters, such as Finnick (Sam Claflin), could easily be translated into their own stories, replete with their training for the Hunger Games and subsequent hero arcs. That list could have expanded to Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), who endured the Second Quarter Quell, and Johanna Mason (Jena Malone).

However, breaking The Hunger Games down to that level could undermine what the books and movies are about. As much as the works follow Katniss’ heroic rise, they act as political parables, using the Capitol and the thirteen districts as a dystopian warning of how far injustice could go if left unchecked. Spending so many years with this world-building, Collins is the best creative mind to understand these dynamics and what stories need to be told to portray this narrative. Luckily, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will respect the integrity of Panem and its well-realized plots.