With The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes playing in the theaters, viewers want to know if they need to watch the original four movies to understand what happens in the new one. Is the narrative of Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes dependent on Jennifer Lawrence’s quadrilogy? Here’s all you need to know.
Do I need to watch The Hunger Games movies before Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes?
It is not necessary to sit through the first four Hunger Games movies to watch Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes because the latter is a prequel. It could be seen before the previous four movies.
Suzanne Collins published The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay in 2008, 2009, and 2010, respectively, and the first four movies were all based on these books. Then in 2020, she published the prequel story, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which can be read before the previous three books.
Similar to that, the latest book’s inspiration, The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, can be seen before the first quadrilogy.
While the release order might be different, The Hunger Games movies fall in the following chronological order story-wise:
- The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
- The Hunger Games (2012)
- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is set 64 years before we saw Katniss Everdeen volunteering as a tribute and going on a journey to liberate the people of Panem. She made her debut in the 74th Hunger Games while the latest prequel will feature the 10th edition of Hunger Games.
It won’t have characters such as Katniss, Peta, and many others, as they weren’t even born at this time. Instead, we’ll be witnessing the story of an 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow years before he became the tyrannical president of Panem. So, one could easily watch the prequel and then decide to binge the originals.
Donald Sutherland played the older version of President Snow in the original movies, but Tom Blyth takes on the younger version in the prequel.
The official synopsis of Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes reads:
“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes follows a young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) who is the last hope for his failing lineage, the once-proud Snow family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With his livelihood threatened, Snow is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from the impoverished District 12. But after Lucy Gray’s charm captivates the audience of Panem, Snow sees an opportunity to shift their fates. With everything he has worked for hanging in the balance, Snow unites with Lucy Gray to turn the odds in their favor. Battling his instincts for both good and evil, Snow sets out on a race against time to survive and reveal if he will ultimately become a songbird or a snake.”
