Fri. Mar 29th, 2024


Josh Andrés Rivera is set to join Lionsgate’s upcoming The Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

RELATED: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Adds First Tributes & Mentors to Cast

Rivera — who is best known for his role in West Side Story — is set to play Sejanus Plint, the mentor to a tribute from District 2 and someone who becomes a close friend to a younger Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth). Rivera will once again be acting alongside Rachel Zegler, who starred in West Side Story and will be the tribute in the upcoming film.

Based on the 2020 prequel novel by Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is set 64 years before the events of the trilogy, starting on the morning of the reaping of the Tenth Hunger Games where an 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is assigned as the mentor for the tribute girl from the impoverished District 12.

“Years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol,” reads the synopsis. “With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, the girl tribute from impoverished District 12. But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.”

RELATED: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Logo Revealed in Teaser Trailer

Written by Michael Lesslie and based on a draft by Collins and Michael Arndt, the film will be helmed by Hunger Games films director Francis Lawrence. It will be shepherded by franchise producer Nina Jacobson and her producing partner Brad Simpson, along with Francis Lawrence. Suzanne Collins, Tim Palen, and Jim Miller will serve as executive producers. Meredith Wieck and Scott O’Brien are overseeing on behalf of the studio.

The prequel is currently scheduled for a November 17, 2023 theatrical release.

By Dave Jenks

Dave Jenks is an American novelist and Veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Between those careers, he’s worked as a deckhand, commercial fisherman, divemaster, taxi driver, construction manager, and over the road truck driver, among many other things. He now lives on a sea island, in the South Carolina Lowcountry, with his wife and youngest daughter. They also have three grown children, five grand children, three dogs and a whole flock of parakeets. Stinnett grew up in Melbourne, Florida and has also lived in the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, and Cozumel, Mexico. His next dream is to one day visit and dive Cuba.