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Game of Thrones Star Peter Dinklage Joins Hunger Games Prequel Movie
The cast of the Hunger Games prequel movie The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes continues to grow as Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage has joined on. Set decades before the events of the earlier books, Suzanne Collins' 2020 novel centers on a teenage Coriolanus Snow as he struggles to retain his family's legacy in the wake of the post-war Capital. Snow is subsequently assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, the young tribute from District 12, and tries to take advantage of her political defiance in the hopes of turning the odds in both of their favors.
Word of a Hunger Games prequel movie first began swirling in 2017 when Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer announced plans to put together a writers room to develop spinoffs of the franchise. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes finally began making progress in 2019 when the studio acquired the rights to the novel prior to its publishing and began working directly with Collins for an adaptation, with previous director Francis Lawrence returning to helm and Michael Lesslie penning the latest draft of the script from Collins and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire's Michael Arndt. Production is kicking off on The Ball of Songbirds and Snakes, but not before adding another A-list talent to its roster.
With over a year still remaining until its arrival, another major star has joined the cast of the Hunger Games prequel movie The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Lionsgate has revealed that Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage has joined the film as Casca Highbottom, the dean of the Academy. Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group President Nathan Kahane wrote about Dinklage's casting in the following statement:
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“With production underway, we couldn’t be more excited about the way this cast has come together and thrilled to be welcoming Peter Dinklage to Panem. Peter is not just a fan favorite actor who brings a commanding presence to every part he plays. He is one of the best actors alive. He will bring a formidable, charismatic authority to the important role of the dean of the Academy.”
Dinklage joins an already star-studded roster for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes which includes Billy the Kid's Tom Blyth as young Snow, Rachel Zegler as Lucy Baird, Josh Andrés Rivera, Euphoria's Hunter Schafer and Jason Schwartzman. News of Dinklage's casting comes a few weeks after Warner Bros. announced it would be shifting Dune: Part Two's release date to the same date as the Hunger Games prequel movie, creating a heated box office battle come late 2023. Interestingly, the news also comes a few months after Dinklage made headlines with his criticism of Disney's live-action Snow White remake, which is being led by Zegler, to which Disney has responded by stating that they would be taking a different approach to adapting the seven dwarf characters by consulting directly with the dwarfism community.
In addition to the new star, it's interesting to note that the report of Dinklage's casting in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes also states that production is underway on the Hunger Games prequel movie. With Lionsgate having already revealed the logo in a teaser trailer for the film, it will be interesting to see if the studio begins offering behind-the-scenes looks at its all-star cast as they bring the world of The Hunger Games back to the big screen. While audiences wait for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes' November 2023 release, they can catch up with the original Hunger Games movies streaming on Epix now.
