This article contains spoilers for the book The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes‘ MPA rating provides a promising glimpse into the book’s adaptation, as one new classification description marks a change from the original franchise. Francis Lawrence directed this film, which is based on Suzanne Collins’s prequel novel to The Hunger Games. The story follows a young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth), who is mentoring the District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) for the 10th Hunger Games.
While the narrative still includes the Hunger Games, it primarily explores the political landscape of a nation grappling with new systems post-war. The MPA rating for the upcoming release of The Ballads of Songbirds and Snakes has been disclosed on FilmRatings.com, as PG-13. Notably, the reasons for this rating are slightly different from the rest of the Hunger Games Franchise, suggesting a promising effort to include the darker elements of the story.
The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes Rating Implies The Movie Will Stay True To The Book
The PG-13 rating of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes indicates a similar tone to that of The Hunger Games. However, there’s a difference in the reasons for the rating. While The Hunger Games‘ rating was attributed to “frightening images” and “thematic material,” The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is tagged with “disturbing material.” This implies that the adaptation is likely to feature the more brutal moments from the book, both within the Games and among the characters. Although the movie won’t fully display the graphic violence of the books with this rating, it’s expected to maintain a high level of intensity, potentially even surpassing that of the original franchise.
Why The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes Will Be Darker Than The Hunger Games
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is already a darker story compared to The Hunger Games, and this is expected to carry over to the film adaption. Firstly, the prequel sheds light on the individuals responsible for shaping the Games, such as Dean Highbottom (Peter Dinklage), the Hunger Games’ creator, and Dr. Volumnia Gau (Viola Davis), the Head Gamemaker. They subject the tributes to harsh living conditions in the “zoo,” with a lack of basic human resources provided to them. This sets a darker backdrop than the grand spectacle depicted in The Hunger Games.
The prequel also features more brutal instances of death and suffering, with a mentor’s throat being slit, peacemakers ruthlessly gunning down individuals, Capitol starvation leading to cannibalism, explosions that cause massive bodily harm and death, and violent snake attacks. One of the most brutal moments in the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes book comes with the mercy killing of Marcus (Jerome Lance), who is strung up in the area. Lamina (Irene Boehm), a tribute from District 7, swings an ax to his throat three times after he asks her to put him out of his misery, making it a gruesome moment.
Apart from the evident violence, the relationships between characters are more cruel and twisted. Snow betrays his friend Sejanus Plinth (Josh Andrés Rivera), by exposing his allegiance with the rebellion to the Capitol, leading to his execution. Even the love story is poisoned by Snow’s desperate pursuit of power, as he turns against the woman he loves throughout the whole story, with the intention of killing her. Given these darker aspects of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the “disturbing material” within its PG-13 rating suggests that the movie is likely to stay faithful to the prequel’s darker elements.
