The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is challenging Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer when it comes to casting announcements with the news that Peter Dinklage is being added to the line-up for the blockbuster prequel.
Deadline reports that the Game of Thrones and Cyrano star will take the role of Casca Highbottom, dean of the Academy and close confidante to the young Coriolanus Snow, who will be played by The Gilded Age‘s Tom Blyth.
Francis Lawrence, who has directed each installment of the $2.97 billion grossing franchise, is returning to helm the prequel which will be adapted from the Suzanne Collins’ novel by Michael Lesslie from Collins and Michael Arndt’s previous draft.
“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,” said Nathan Kahane, President of Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group. “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.”
Let us know whether Dinklage’s addition makes you eager to return to the world of Panem by heading to our social channels @FlickeringMyth….
Years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), the girl tribute from impoverished District 12. But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy Gray’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes stars Tom Blyth (Billy The Kid), Rachel Zegler (West Side Story), Hunter Schafer (Euphoria), Jason Schwartzman (The French Dispatch), Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), Josh Andrés Rivera (West Side Story), Ashley Liao (Physical), Knox Gibson (Forgive Us Our Trespasses), Aamer Husain (Hudson & Rex), Mackenzie Lansing (Mare of Easttown), Nick Benson (Big Shot), Laurel Marsden (Ms. Marvel), Lilly Cooper (The Witcher), Luna Steeples (Overdue), Hiroke Berrecloth (Red Rose), Zoe Renee (Jinn), Kaitlyn Akinpelumi (The School of Good and Evil), Ayomide Adegun (The Continental), Max Raphael (Slaughterhouse Rulez) and newcomers Sofia Sanchez, Amelie Hoeferle and Jerome Lance.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes arrives in cinemas on November 17th, 2023.