Hunger Games director on Katniss Easter egg in new Songbirds & Snakes trailer
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes director Francis Lawrence has addressed the new trailer's reference to Katniss Everdeen.
Fans have noticed that the new trailer features 'The Hanging Tree', sung by Rachel Zegler's Lucy Gray Baird. It's a well-known track in the franchise and significant in both The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and the main Hunger Games books.
We first heard Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss sing the song in Mockingjay: Part One. However, it was later revealed in the prequel novel that Lucy Gray Baird wrote 'The Hanging Tree'.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly about the Easter egg, Lawrence explained why he included the song in the trailer and its relevance to Lucy's background.
Related: Rachel Zegler originally turned down Hunger Games prequel role
"She's a performer. After witnessing a man being hanged for multiple murders, she crafts 'The Hanging Tree', which is, of course, 65 years later in these stories, a song we hear Katniss singing," he explained.
"So, this is a song that's been passed down through generations of people in District 12."
While in District 12, Lucy witnesses the hanging of Arlo Chance, later writing 'The Hanging Tree' about the execution and subsequent rebellion. The song is then used in Mockingjay as a symbol of rebellion against the government of Panem.
Related: Jennifer Lawrence shuts down Hunger Games prequel rumour
Set 64 years before the start of the main Hunger Games series, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes focuses on the backstory of future Panem President Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth, played by Donald Sutherland in the main films) as he fights to restore his family's legacy.
Snow finds himself working with Lucy (Rachel Zegler) after he's assigned as her mentor for the upcoming Hunger Games, seeing this as an opportunity to reverse his fortunes.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be released in cinemas on November 17. The previous Hunger Games movies are available to stream on Prime Video UK.
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