The Hunger Games has had readers and movie-watchers obsessed since the first book’s release in 2008. 

With the release of the series prequel “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” movie, a whole new generation has fallen in love with Suzannne Collins‘s work.

This movie takes place 64 years before the games seen in the original trilogy, following the 10th Hunger Games and future president Coriolanus Snow’s role in the early games.

Tom Blythe takes on the role of Coriolanus Snow, the last hope for the dying Snow dynasty. With hopes to receive the coveted Plinth Prize, awarding him enough money to afford university, he has to take on one final challenge.

The Hunger Games has been losing viewers by the year and with the 10th annual games quickly approaching, head Gamemaker Dr. Gaul (Viola Davis) is determined to bring back the audience.

With Capitol citizens unable to find watching starved, desperate children kill each other entertaining, Dr. Gual along with the mastermind behind the creation of the Hunger Games, Dean Highbottom (Peter Dinklage) decide to find a way to turn the tributes into marketable competitors.   

Snow, along with his classmates are all assigned a tribute, whom they are instructed to mentor and turn into a star. He becomes quickly alarmed when he is assigned the female tribute from District 12, Lucy Gray Baird played by Rachel Zegler. 

Lucy Gray quickly captures both the Capitol and Coriolanus Snow’s attention with her beautiful voice and quick wit.Held under the threat of his family’s ruin, Snow gains Lucy’s trust, doing anything to ensure she wins. 

The movie gives viewers a new perspective on President Snow and his turn from a young, high-achieving student, to the infamous leader who managed to continue the Hunger Games for decades.

Tom Blythe somehow manages to get even the biggest Hunger Games fans to connect with Snow and his struggle with loyalty to his family, country, best friend, and the girl he’s quickly falling for. Snow’s best and possibly only friends, Sejanus Plinth (Josh Andrés Rivera) and Lucy Gray both have very strong connections to the districts and both work to help the citizens of the districts much to Snow’s opposition.

Many people quickly became obsessed with the movie, some deciding to read the original series after watching the movie, giving hope that the age of dystopian movies and books is coming back. 

Artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Rachel Zegler herself come together to create a beautiful soundtrack that tells the story of Lucy Gray’s journey.

Most people can’t open their phones without seeing dozens of posts about the movie, making more and more people interested in the movie.

This movie was exactly what fans have been waiting for, and proved that maybe the era of dystopian media has come back, stronger than ever. 

It received a 7.2/10 on IMDb and has made a total of 244.8 million dollars worldwide.

“Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” has the perfect combination that every movie needs to be successful: a talented cast, great writing and an amazing soundtrack.