Now that The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has been released in theaters, avid fans of the books are hungry for easter eggs. One of the things they spotted in the movie is the presence of Hilarius Heavensbee. But the big question though is, is Plutarch Heavensbee in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes?
Also, are the two characters related? After all, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a prequel, set 64 years prior to the first book. This means that we're looking at the storylines of the elder characters in the saga and their possible relatives.
So is Plutarch Heavensbee in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes? Here's what we know.
Who is Plutarch Heavensbee?
Before anything, let's talk about who Plutarch Heavensbee is. In the movies, Plutarch Heavensbee was portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, who passed away in 2014, during the filming of Mockingjay, Part 1.
As a character, Plutarch is a complicated man. He is a native of the Capitol and has long held a high-ranking position in President Coriolanus Snow's government. In Catching Fire, he was appointed as Head Gamemaker after Seneca Crane's execution.
In Mockingjay, however, his role as underground agent and commander of District 13's rebel forces was revealed after years of secrecy. After the war, Plutarch became the Secretary of Communications.
Is Plutarch Heavensbee in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes?
So again, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is set 64 years in the past. The film highlights President Coriolanus Snow's backstory when he was 18 years old.
For avid fans of both the books and movies, it is pretty much a given that Plutarch is at least two decades younger than President Snow. So judging from this notion, Plutarch was not yet born during the time The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes place. Or he could have been a toddler during this period.
So no, Plutarch is not in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. But if you already watched the film, you may have spotted a couple of easter eggs in one of the earlier scenes in the movie: a plaque containing the words "Heavensbee Hall." This is in reference to an area at the Academy where we first meet Coriolanus and his classmates.
The other easter egg in the film is that one of Coriolanus' classmates is named Hilarius Heavensbee, who is likely Plutarch's relative.
Who is Hilarius Heavensbee?
In The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Hilarius Heavensbee is portrayed by Florian Burgkart. The character is said to be one of the 24 top-performing seniors at the Academy. As a result, he was assigned to be the mentor of a female tribute from District 8 called Wovey.
Despite his family's wealth and influence at the Capitol, Hilarius had always feels oppressed. He criticized Wovey for lacking personality, which he thought led to her not getting any sponsors. He hoped to gain his parents' approval by getting Wovey to be part of the final 12.
As the games progressed, Wovey managed to stay alive by hiding in the tunnels. When he finally found her, he sent her food and water. Unfortunately, as Wovey emerged, she mistakenly drank the water left behind by Lucy Gray Baird, which contained rat poison, and died instantly.
Hilarius was disappointed at his mentee's fate, but was pleased that she had made it to 8th place.
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