Chilling new trailer for The Hunger Games prequel marks a brutal and bloody return to Panem

We've got a disturbing new look at The Hunger Games prequel film The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. 

In the latest trailer for the dystopian movie, we see Tom Blyth's Coriolanus Snow as he becomes a mentor to Rachel Zegler's Lucy Gray Baird. The chilling new clip gives some insight into their complicated relationship as the 10th annual Hunger Games approaches. The future president of Panem must grapple with where his loyalties lie amid the violence and bloodshed of the horrific games.

"Mr Snow, let me ask you one final time," Viola Davis' head gamesmaker asks him, "What are The Hunger Games for?" It's a chilling new look at this world, and one we can't wait to see play out.

This is the second trailer for the movie, after the first introduced us to a world set way before the hugely popular Jennifer Lawrence films. The story is based on the prequel novel written by Suzanne Collins, and tells the origin story of President Snow during his teenage years.

If it follows the same trajectory as the novel, expect to see plenty of brutality and heartbreak, as well as perhaps an understanding of how Coriolanus Snow became quite as evil as he did. 

Alongside Blyth and Zegler, the star-studded cast also features Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman, Peter Dinklage, Josh Andrés Rivera, and Viola Davis. The Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence is also back in the directing seat too.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is released on November 17, 2023. For more upcoming movies, check out our guides to 2023 movie release dates.

Fay Watson
Deputy Entertainment Editor

I’m the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for the Total Film and SFX sections online. I previously worked as a Senior Showbiz Reporter and SEO TV reporter at Express Online for three years. I've also written for The Resident magazines and Amateur Photographer, before specializing in entertainment.