‘Hunger Games’ Prequel Production To Start In 2022; Film Could Have Theatrical Release

The prequel film to the “Hunger Games” series is scheduled to start production in the first half of 2022.

Lionsgate film group boss Joe Drake announced at the company’s quarterly earnings call with Wall Street analysts Thursday that the prequel, which will be based on Suzanne Collins’ book “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” is aiming to start filming early next year, Deadline first reported.

According to the Lionsgate motion picture group chairman, production is set to begin in the first half as they are targeting a possible release in either late 2023 or early 2024.

Drake even assured the analysts present at the gathering that the pre-production process on the tentpole film is “moving along really, really well.”

He also touched on the possibility of having a theatrical release for the movie despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“There’s an audience that wants to come back to theaters. I believe the market’s going to come back. … There’s going to be a strong, robust platform for us to monetize our movies,” Drake said.

Francis Lawrence has been tapped to return to the franchise and direct the prequel, which is expected to focus on the character Coriolanus Snow in his younger years before he became the tyrannical president of Panem, according to Collider.

The official synopsis for “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” reads:

“It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

“The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined — every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute . . . and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.”

Casting for the project has not been announced yet. However, it has already been confirmed that Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson are coming back as producers. Collins will also be part of the team, while Michael Arndt has been asked to pen the script.

The “Hunger Games” movie franchise, which yielded four titles, earned a total of nearly $3 billion at the global box office. Out of the four movies, the second film, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” earned the most with $865 million in worldwide box office sales, based on Statista’s data.