Rachel Zegler confirms she will play Lucy Gray Baird in Hunger Games prequel following cryptic tweet

West Side Story star joins Tom Blyth in lead roles

Rachel Zegler has confirmed her role as Lucy Gray Baird in the forthcoming prequel to The Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will focus on the character of Coriolanus Snow, a role played by Donald Sutherland in the original trilogy that starred Jennifer Lawrence.

Zegler is joining Tom Blyth (previously Billy the Kid and The Gilded Age) who was recently announced to portray a young version of Coriolanus.

The West Side Story actor teased the casting news on Twitter on Tuesday (31 May), spelling out “Lucy Gray Baird” by underlining letters from a previous tweet.

Lucy Gray is the girl tribute from the impoverished District 12 who will compete in the vicious annual games.

The prequel’s logline read: ““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.

“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 favour.”

It continued: “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.”

Francis Lawrence, who directed three of the four previous franchise movies, returns as director.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is slated for a theatrical release on 17 November 2023.