Hunger Games 5: does heroine Rachel Zegler really sing in the 2023 film?

In 2012, the general public discovered Jennifer Lawrence thanks to the big screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ bestseller, Hunger Games. Eleven years later, and after nearly 3 billion dollars raised around the world, the Hunger Games saga is back in cinemas with a prequel carried by two young actors, Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler.

The British Tom Blyth takes over the role played by Donald Sutherland in the original tetralogy, that of Coriolanus Snow at the age of 18, while the actress Rachel Zegler plays Lucy Gray Bird, the heroine of this film which takes place 64 years old before Katniss’s adventures.

Upon her appointment as a tribute, Lucy began to sing on stage. His smooth voice captivates spectators and mentors and will be an asset throughout the games.

But does Rachel Zegler perform the songs from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of the Serpent and the Songbird herself?

It is indeed the actress who sings the song in the film. The young girl made herself known by posting covers of hits such as the titles of the film A Star is born, Candlestick by Sia or even Disney songs on social networks.

In 2020, she landed the role of Maria in Steven Spielberg’s musical comedy, West Side Story. A role for which she won the Golden Globe for best actress in a musical film.

Big fan of the novels of Suzanne CollinsRachel Zegler gave 200% to play the character of Lucy Gray Baird.

Rachel Zegler covers “The Hanging Tree” already performed by Jennifer Lawrence

During our interview, the actress confided to us that she had worked a lot on the songs of The Ballad of the Serpent and the Songbird. While the other actors rested for the weekend, Zegler was in the studio rehearsing and recording the songs for the feature film, including the famous song performed by Katniss in The Hunger Games: Part 1, The Hanging Tree.

Written by Suzanne Collins and composed by James Newton Howard in 2014, the song is at the center of The Ballad of the Serpent and the Songbird. We discover that it was Lucy who wrote the title centered on Hangman’s Tree.

The latter composed the song after witnessing the hanging of a rebel. Before being pushed into the void, the latter shouted the name of his fiancée, telling her to flee. A final sentence taken up and repeated over and over by the mockingjays created by the Capitol to spy on the districts. This scene inspired the young woman to write the first two verses of the piece.

We thus learn that the song of the revolt ofHunger Games: Rebellion part 1 was written for President Snow…

Rachel Zegler spent her weekends in the studio

Rachel Zegler explains: “Suzanne Collins had a clear idea of ​​what she wanted. She knew what she wanted for every song she wrote in the book. She collaborated with Dave Cobb, a very talented music producer, to find and craft a sound that is modern. The result is this astonishing Appalachian folk atmosphere..

Metropolitan Filmexport

So during filming, I spent my weekends in a recording studio, while learning to play guitar, working on my accent, and stretching for the next day’s shoot. It was a very intense process. But since I saw the movie, I think it was 100% worth it..”

The latter adds: “On the other hand, I didn’t have much opportunity to prepare for the stunts, which I largely performed myself in the film. So I had to rely on the patience of our stunt coordinators, Scott and Steve, and also that of my colleagues, who really helped me understand where I was going and what I was doing.”

Singer and actress, Rachel Zegler therefore had less time than her colleagues for physical training, but went above and beyond to give voice to the woman who wrote the song which, more than 65 years later, would become the anthem of rebellion.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of the Serpent and the Songbird is currently in theaters.