Dolly Parton inspired Rachel Zegler’s role in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will introduce viewers to Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a new tribute from District 12 who will face the biggest test of her life when she takes part in the tenth Hunger Games. From performing with a traveling band, the character will go straight into a brutal competition where young people are sent to kill each other for fun. In a recent interview with Collider’s Perry Nemirofffranchise producer Nina Jacobson spoke about how the country music legend and everyone’s favorite superstar Dolly Parton proved to be an inspiration for the character, setting the stage for her journey.

“We’ve talked a lot about Dolly Parton as someone whose purpose is to entertain and there’s nothing preachy about her. She wants everyone to feel that her music is made for them, that this song is for you. So we wanted in Rachel, someone who could make every person in the room feel, “She’s singing this song to me,” and what it would be like for someone like Snow to know, “She’s really singing this song to me.”

Jacobson also talked about how Zegler brought her own voice to the role, making Lucy more approachable in a world that focuses on treating everyone who isn’t part of Panem’s elite coldly: “But being able to find someone, and Rachel, who could do this and still bring the rawness rather than flipping a switch and going into melody show mode, but really [believe] that this is her music, that she wrote this music, and that this is music that embodies her experience.”

Dolly Parton is best known around the world for her country music career, where she has won eleven Grammy Awards for her extensive body of work. Until the singer achieved his dream EGOT somehow she received at least one award nomination in every category she needed to achieve. Her occasional acting career includes appearances in projects such as steel magnolias And Gnomeo and Juliet, establishing Parton as an artist capable of adapting to different mediums. It’s easy to see why the team behind The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes I would consider her a source of inspiration.

“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is a different kind of hunger games

The upcoming prequel will take place decades before Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) changed the course of history with her revolution against President Snow (Donald Sutherland). Tom Blyth will portray a younger version of Snow as his friendship with Lucy molds him into the person he is destined to become. WITH Peter Dinklage playing the man who first came up with the idea for the Hunger Games and Viola Davis having assumed the position of chief game maker, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes ready to let viewers see a different version of Panem.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes It will premiere in US cinemas on November 17th.

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Watch Nemiroff’s full conversation with Jacobson below.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

64 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered to pay her respects, and decades before Coriolanus Snow became the tyrannical president of Panem. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes follows young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth), who is the last hope of his weakening lineage, the once proud Snow family falling out of favor in the post-war Capitol. With his livelihood in jeopardy, Snow is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a homage from impoverished District 12. But after Lucy Gray’s charm captivates Panem’s audience, Snow sees an opportunity to change their destinies. With everything he’s worked for hanging in the balance, Snow teams up with Lucy Gray to turn the tide in his favor. Struggling with his instincts of good and evil, Snow sets out on a race against time to survive and discover whether he will ultimately become a songbird or a snake.

Date of issue

November 17, 2023

Director

Francis Lawrence

Throw

Rachel Zegler, Hunter Schafer, Viola Davis, Tom Blyth, Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman, Burn Gorman, Fionnula Flanagan

Rating

PG-13

lead time

165 minutes

Main genre

Science fiction

Genres

Sci-Fi, Drama, Thriller

Writers

Michael Lesslie, Michael Arndt, Suzanne Collins

Manufacturing company

Color Power, The Good Universe, Lionsgate