Jason Schwartzman is the latest addition to the Hunger Games prequel
Schwartzman picks up the mantle from Stanley Tucci as host of Panem's 10th annual Hunger Games
The Hunger Games films followed a very particular formula on its path to success: the child death matches, the tortured love triangle, the political intrigue, the flamboyant Capitol fashions and the equally over-the-top announcer guy. Filling the latter role in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be Jason Schwartzman (per Deadline), because this prequel is sticking with what works.
Following in the footsteps (or, since this is a prequel, preceding the footsteps) of the ever-memorable Stanley Tucci, Schwartzman will play Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman, the host of Panem’s 10th Hunger Games. Yes, Schwartzman’s character is actually the ancestor of Tucci’s Caesar Flickerman; showmanship must run in the family. Perhaps it’s a commentary on the role of nepotism in fascist societies. Or perhaps author Suzanne Collins ran out of names.
In any case, Collins certainly relied on familiar (if occasionally obscure) names from the original trilogy to populate the prequel. The story centers around Corialanus Snow (Tom Blyth) and his path to becoming Panem’s villainous dictator. Hunter Schafer was recently cast as Snow’s cousin Tigris, a fashion designer who played a minor role in Mockingjay.
Rachel Zegler will play Lucy Gray Baird, a character who wasn’t named in the original series but looms large over the lore. She’s the songstress behind “The Hanging Tree” and “Deep In The Meadow,” two District 12 ballads that help elevate Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) as a political figure after she sings them.
Schwartzman joins the previously announced cast of tributes, mentors, and District 12 residents including Josh Andrés Rivera, Jerome Lance, Ashley Liao, Knox Gibson, Mackenzie Lansing, Aamer Husain, Nick Benson, Laurel Marsden, Lilly Cooper, Luna Steeples and Hiroki Berrecloth, per Deadline. Original trilogy director Francis Lawrence is returning to helm the new (or old, since prequel) generation of Hunger Games, which feels very similar to the old (or new?) generation, if the Flickerman connection is anything to go by.