'The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes' release date, cast and trailer

'The Hunger Games' prequel is adapted from Suzanne Collins’s 2020 novel

'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes' will depict the younger years of president Snow, the antagonist of the original 'Hunger Games' trilogy portrayed by Donald Sutherland. Photo: Murray Close

A teaser trailer for the fifth Hunger Games film has been released, and though it doesn’t depict much, or anything, about the project or its story, it signals a return to the totalitarian dystopia with an impressive display of gold and ice.

Here's everything we know so far about the project.

What’s the teaser trailer about?

The two-minute CGI clip offers the first look at the film adaptation of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which takes place before the events portrayed in the Hunger Games trilogy that stars Jennifer Lawrence.

The teaser shows the leafless, ice-crusted branches of a tree before revealing a frozen songbird and snake. As the frost melts to an ethereal synth and string-driven soundtrack, we see hints of gold behind the chipping ice. First appear the talons and then the feathers, as the snake in the background begins to slither.

“The world will discover who is a songbird and who is a snake,” the teaser reads before concluding with the film’s title and crest, which depicts a golden songbird and snake perched and twined on the same circular branch.

When will the film be released?

A mesmerising but uninformative clip, the teaser lives up to its name by only revealing the film’s release date — November 17, 2023. It is the same pre-Thanksgiving time window where The Hunger Games films Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part 1 and Mockingjay Part 2 were released.

The franchise has made upwards of $3 billion at the international box office.

What will it be about?

As the film is adapted from Suzanne Collins’s eponymous 2020 prequel to her Hunger Games trilogy, we have a pretty good idea of what the film is going to be about.

The title and cover art of 'The Hunger Games' prequel 'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'. Scholastic.

The book revolves around a young Coriolanus Snow, who we know as the nonchalantly ruthless despot and main antagonist of the original Hunger Games trilogy, who was portrayed by Donald Sutherland.

However, here, Snow is not yet like the man he is doomed to become. Once the son of one of the most elite families in the Capitol, Snow is an orphan living with his grandmother and cousin in an apartment they can barely afford.

In a turn of fate, he is assigned to mentor, Lucy Gray Baird, the tribute from the destitute District 12, home of the original Hunger Games protagonist Katniss Everdeen. The two combine their aptitude for theatrics, showmanship and political acumen to try and win the 10th annual Hunger Games, revealing who is the songbird and who is the snake in the process.

Who will be in it?

Francis Lawrence, who directed the Hunger Games sequels, will return to helm The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

'West Side Story' star Rachel Zegler will star in Lionsgate’s planned 'Hunger Games' prequel. Photo by Charles Sykes / Invision / AP, File

West Side Story actress Rachel Zegler will star as Lucy Gray Baird and Billy the Kid’s Tom Blyth will take on the role of the young Coriolanus Snow.