Rachel Zegler Volunteers as Tribute: Hunger Games Prequel Finds Its Female Lead
Starring as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story was just the beginning for Rachel Zegler. In addition to being cast as Snow White in the upcoming live action remake (which will also be starrign Gal Gadot) and an as-yet-undisclosed goddess in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Lionsgate has announced that Zegler will be playing Lucy Gray Baird in the upcoming Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Zegler joins Tom Blythe, who was recently cast as Coriolanus Snow, the male lead of the film and the future tyrannical leader of Panem.
Coming from a family of traveling musicians, Baird is selected as the female tribute for District 12 in the 10th Hunger Games and Snow is assigned as her mentor. Her charm and singing skills wins over the imagination of everyone viewing the annual barbaric televised event in which twenty-four teenagers are forced to fight each other to the death. It is through her that Snow hopes to reclaim his family’s former glory and sets the Games on the road to the high-tech torture fans of the series know.
Lionsgate Motion Picture Group president Nathan Kahane said of Zegler’s casting:
When you read Suzanne’s book, Lucy Gray’s emotional intelligence, physical agility, and fiercely powerful, determined singing voice shine through. Rachel embodies all of those skills — she is the perfect choice for our Lucy Gray.
The Ballad of Snakes and Songbirds is coming to theaters on November 17, 2023.
Photo: Rachel Zegler as Maria in West Side Story. Courtesy of Disney.
