Euphoria Star Hunter Schafer Boards Hunger Games: Ballad Of The Songbirds And Snakes
After two seasons of "Euphoria," Hunter Schafer is no stranger to captivating make-up looks, but here's hoping she's prepared for how weird things can get in the Capitol. Schafer is graduating from high school drama to pure dystopian chaos by joining the cast of Lionsgate's "Hunger Games" prequel, "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes." The film digs into the period 18 years before Coriolanus Snow's tyrannical reign of Panem, and per The Hollywood Reporter, Schafer will play Tigris Snow, who is described as "Coriolanus's cousin and confidante, who advises him in everything — from his role as mentor to the core of his moral compass."
As someone who wants to see Hunter Schafer everywhere all the time, this is thrilling news. The model-turned-actress made her acting debut just two years ago as Jules in HBO's "Euphoria," where she regularly astounds. It takes a lot to steal the scene when sharing onscreen moments with Zendaya, but Hunter Schafer has been holding her own since the very start. By the time the second season rolled around, she also served as a co-writer and co-executive producer on a special episode of the series that centered around Jules. Schafer's other credit includes serving as the voice of Ruka for the English dub of Mamoru Hosoda's "Belle" and her upcoming role in the Neon horror film "Cukoo," where she stars alongside Gemma Chan, Sofia Boutella, and John Malkovich.
In "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," Hunter Schafer is joining Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth, Jerome Lance, Ashley Liao, Knox Gibson, Mackenzie Lansing, Aamer Husain, and Josh Andrés Rivera. Francis Lawrence, who directed three of the four "Hunger Games" movies ( "Catching Fire," "Mockingjay: Part One," and "Mockingjay: Part Two") is returning to the franchise with a screenplay by Michael Lesslie.
Who is Tigris Snow?
Tigris is a rare character from the upcoming film that fans of "The Hunger Games" will recognize without having read the prequel. Tigris has already appeared on screen in "Mockingjay: Part 2," played by Eugenie Bondurant. By that point in time, the Capitol's love of radical cosmetic surgery has certainly rubbed off on Tigris — the former stylist is tattooed with black and gold tiger stripes and has surgically implanted whiskers. That's not all — Tigris also acts like a cat, to match her looks. She moves like a feline, purrs when she speaks, and only consumes raw meat. Weird? Definitely. But certainly not the weirdest feature of the dystopian society. Katniss even dedicated a portion of her internal monologue to wondering whether the name or the surgery came first. "The Ballad of the Songbirds and Snakes" might finally provide us with the answer.
"The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" is set to debut worldwide in theaters on November 17, 2023. The prequel's logline from Lionsgate reads:
Years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, the girl tribute from impoverished District 12. But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem's attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy's race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird and a snake.