'Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes': Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler get close in first look

Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Lionsgate is giving a glimpse of the new film The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

The studio shared a first-look photo for the Hunger Games prequel film Tuesday featuring Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler.

Blyth and Zegler play Coriolanus Snow and Lucy Gray in the new movie. The image shows Coriolanus (Blyth) and Lucy (Zegler) holding hands as they gaze up at the sky.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is based on the Suzanne Collins novel of the same name. The prequel follows an 18-year-old Coriolanus, years before he becomes the tyrannical president of Panem in the Hunger Games films, portrayed by Donald Sutherland.

"With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (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," an official synopsis reads.

Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera and Jason Schwartzman also star. In addition, news broke Monday that Viola Davis will play the villain Dr. Volumnia Gaul, the head gamemaker of the 10th Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is written by Michael Arndt and Michael Lesslie and directed by Francis Lawrence. The film opens in theaters Nov. 17, 2023.