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The Hunger Games Reveals President Snow is The Prequel Hero


The Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins has written a new prequel novel for her best-selling franchise, and last year, we learned that the title of the prequel is The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

Now, Entertainment Weekly has shared some interesting details about the upcoming book, including a surprising character reveal: Coriolanus Snow will be the protagonist of The Hunger Games prequel. The villain of the main series and Katniss Everdeen's archnemesis President Snow will be the hero in the prequel story.

EW exlusively revealed that The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes place 64 years before the beginning of The Hunger Games, and in the prequel, Coriolanus Snow is "a teenager born to privilege but searching for something more, a far cry from the man we know he will become. Here, he's friendly. He's charming. And, for now anyway, he's a hero."

EW also shared their exclusive image of young Coriolanus Snow along with the first excerpt from The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes:

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Credit: Entertainment Weekly
"The grand staircase up to the Academy could hold the entire student body, so it easily accommodated the stream of officials, professors, and students headed for the reaping day festivities. Coriolanus climbed it slowly, attempting a casual dignity in case he caught anyone's eye. People knew him—or at least they had known his parents and grandparents—and there was a certain standard expected of a Snow. This year, beginning this very day, he was hoping to achieve personal recognition as well. Mentoring in the Hunger Games was his final project before graduating from the Academy in midsummer. If he gave an impressive performance as a mentor, with his outstanding academic record, Coriolanus should be awarded a monetary prize substantial enough to cover his tuition at the University.
There would be twenty-four tributes, one boy and one girl from each of the twelve defeated districts, drawn by lottery to be thrown into an arena to fight to the death in the Hunger Games. It was all laid out in the Treaty of Treason that had ended the Dark Days of the districts' rebellion, one of the many punishments borne by the rebels. As in the past, the tributes would be dumped into the Capitol Arena, a now-dilapidated amphitheater that had been used for sports and entertainment events before the war, along with some weapons to murder one another. Viewing was encouraged in the Capitol, but a lot of people avoided it. How to make it more engaging was the challenge..."

It sounds like the prequel will reveal a lot of background information about how The Hunger Games began. It would be interesting to see what motivates Snow to become the villain fans are familiar with.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be released May 19, 2020.

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