In theaters since Wednesday, “Hunger Games: The Ballad of the Serpent and the Songbird” is a prequel to the dystopian franchise. In the lead female role, Jennifer Lawrence leaves her place to Rachel Zegler, actress revealed by Spielberg.
Eight years after The Hunger Games: Part 2, the dystopian saga adapted from the books by Suzanne Collins is back on screens. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of the Serpent and the Songbird takes viewers 64 years before the previous films and returns to the youth of Coriolanus Snow, who, while still a student, begins a journey that will lead him to the presidency of Panem. This opus also explores a turning point in the reconstruction of Panem, after the war, and the consolidation of its authoritarian regime.
No trace of Katniss Everdeen and Jennifer Lawrence in this fifth episode, but a new heroine: Lucy Gray Baird, played by Rachel Zegler. At only 22 years old, the latter finds herself headlining one of the most popular sagas of recent years.
Born to an American father and a Colombian mother, the actress grew up in New Jersey. Very early on, she developed a passion for song and dance and, as a teenager, began participating in musicals. Enrolled at the Bergen School of Performing Arts, she took on stage the roles of Disney heroines such as Ariel from The Little Mermaid and Belle from The beauty and the Beast. She has been nominated four times for the Metro Awards, the trophies rewarding the performances of high school students in her region. In 2015, wanting to get noticed, she launched her YouTube channel where she sang covers of hits like Candlestick by Sia as well as her own compositions.
Walt Disney Germany “West Side Story”
In 2018, while in her senior year of high school, she participated in a casting announcement for a new adaptation of West Side Story. She sends a video of her performing in Spanish I Feel Pretty. After a year of casting, she was chosen to play the heroine of Steven Spielberg’s film, succeeding Natalie Wood in the role of Maria. His performance earned him a Golden Globe.
From an illustrious unknown, Rachel Zegler became one of the most prominent young actresses: she then joined the cast of Shazam! Rage of the Gods, the sequel to the DC Comics superhero film. With The Hunger Games: The Ballad of the Serpent and the Songbird, currently in theaters, she reconnects with her passion for singing since we can notably hear her perform it again. The Hanging Treea song that serves as a rallying cry for the rebels in their fight against the Capitol.
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Her character is in fact a musician who knows how to play with her charm. The actress highlights the common points between Lucy Gray and Katniss, both from District 12, by describing them “as hostile to the system and the government and always ready to defend the values of justice, and devoid of gentleness or cordiality. They are rough and ready.”
The actress continues her rise: she was chosen to bring to life an emblematic Disney princess: Snow White, in the live adaptation of the 1937 cartoon. She will opposite Gal Gadot, who will play his evil stepmother.
Discover an excerpt from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of the Serpent and the Bird where Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) is chosen as a tribute: