Peter Dinklage, who starred in Game of Thrones and Avengers: Infinity War, has joined the cast of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the precursor to The Hunger Games. The Dean of the Academy, Casca Highbottom, will be portrayed by the Emmy Award-winning actor.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the highly anticipated prequel to The Hunger Games, has cast former Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage.
The four-time Emmy winner will play Casca Highbottom, the dean of the Academy, starring Tom Blyth as a young Coriolanus Snow and West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler as Lady Lucy Gray Baird, according to a statement from Lionsgate.
According to Lionsgate, the story is set years before the dictatorial President of Panem “The final hope for his dying lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capital, is 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow.
“As the 10th annual Hunger Games approach, the young Snow is troubled when he is given the task of training Lucy Gray Baird, the girl tribute from underprivileged District 12. Lucy Gray captures Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ritual, and Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor as a result.
The book claims that “Snow and Lucy’s race against time to survive will eventually show who is a songbird, and who is a snake.” “Unifying their showbiz impulses and newly acquired political understanding.”
Director Francis Lawrence commented on Dinklage’s part as follows: “One of the most influential people in Snow’s life is Dean Highbottom. He establishes the rules that would govern every aspect of Coriolanus’s fate in his role as the stern and spiteful face of the games. Peter will be bringing him to life, and I’m very happy about that.”
Nina Jacobson, the producer, added: “There isn’t a performer I can imagine who is more well suited to play Highbottom. Casca Highbottom is a mysterious figure who is both the Dean of the Academy and the man who is credited with creating the Hunger Games. The knowledge, depth, and sadness that the part calls for will be infused into Peter by his charm, intensity, and black humor.”
After directing three of the franchise’s films, Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part 1 and Mockingjay Part 2, Lawrence will take the reins once more. Michael Lesslie, who wrote Macbeth, recently revised a manuscript by franchise creators Suzanne Collins and Michael Arndt (Star Wars: The Force Awakens).
The Hunger Games film series is undoubtedly a significant moneymaker for Lionsgate, grossing more than $3 billion worldwide. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be released on November 17, 2023, and the studio has big expectations for it. The narrative begins several years before Coriolanus Snow, then 18 years old, rose to power as the despotic President of Panem.
The final ray of hope for his dying lineage, his proud but disgraced family in a post-war Capitol. The young Snow is disturbed when he is assigned to train Lucy Gray Baird, the girl tribute from impoverished District 12, with the 10th annual Hunger Games drawing near. Snow believes he can change the odds in their favor, though, after Lucy Gray seizes Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony.
Snow and Lucy’s battle for survival against the clock will finally expose who is a songbird and who is a snake by combining their natural tendencies for theatrics and newly acquired political cunning.
“With filming already under progress, we are overjoyed with the way the cast has gelled and are delighted to have Peter Dinklage join Panem. Peter is not merely a popular performer who gives every role he plays a commanding presence, “According to Nathan Kahane, head of Lionsgate’s motion picture division. “He is one of the top actors working today. He will provide a strong, charismatic presence to the crucial position of Dean of the Academy.”
Franchise producer Nina Jacobson continues, “I cannot conceive of an actor more well suited to occupy the role of Highbottom.” “Casca Highbottom is a mysterious figure who is both the Dean of the Academy and the guy who is credited with creating the Hunger Games. The knowledge, depth, and sadness that the part calls for will be infused into Peter by his charm, intensity, and black humor.”
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was written by Michael Lesslie, however Suzanne Collins and Michael Arndt contributed to an earlier version. Dinklage’s role as Tyrion Lannister in HBO’s Game of Thrones is undoubtedly his most well-known one, but he most recently appeared in the film Cyrano (he was supposed to return as Eitri in Thor: Love and Thunder but ended up being cut).
On November 17, 2023, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be released in theaters.