Hunger Games prequel sets new record for series with lengthy runtime
The Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has set a new record for the franchise with its lengthy runtime.
Coming in at 156 minutes and 59 seconds, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is officially the longest film in the series.
This means the latest instalment is ten minutes longer than Catching Fire, the second of the original movies, which ran at 146 minutes and 3 seconds.
Related: Why Euphoria star Hunter Schafer was cast in Hunger Games prequel
Directed by Francis Lawrence, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes tells the story of a young Coriolanus Snow (played by Tom Blyth) as he signs on to mentor Rachel Zegler's Lucy Gray Baird in the tenth Hunger Games in an attempt to save his family's legacy.
The prequel movie boasts a star studded cast with actors including Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman, Hunter Schafer and Viola Davis starring alongside Blyth and Zeigler.
Previously speaking about the potential for future spin-off movies, director Lawrence, who directed Catching Fire and both Mockingjay films, said it all depends on the books original author Suzanne Collins.
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"Suzanne always writes from a thematic foundation," said Lawrence. "The original ones were all about the consequences of war. [Songbirds and Snakes is] about the state of nature. That's what makes them feel rich and not superficial, and I think it's why they've stood the test of time, honestly.
"If Suzanne has another thematic idea that she feels fits into the world of Panem — whether that's with new people [or] familiar characters [like] Finnick, Haymitch, whoever — I'd be really interested in looking at it and being a part of it," he continued.
"But I don't have any pull of just going, 'I would love to do Finnick's games.' He's a great character, but what's the thematic underpinnings that make it worth telling and relevant?"
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be released in cinemas on November 17, 2023. The previous Hunger Games movies are available to stream on Prime Video UK.
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