Casting on The Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has seen a mix of big names and relatively unknown. With so many roles to fill that makes some sense. For the most part, well-known stars are being set for the more important parts. And so we have Jason Schwartzman, who has just been cast as the game show host-like figure who will actually present Panem’s deadly ritual.
Schwartzman will take on the role of Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman, host of the 10th Annual Hunger Games. If that last name seems familiar, it’s because Lucky is the ancient ancestor of Stanley Tucci’s toothy Cesar Flickerman, future host of the competition.
He joins a cast that includes West Side Story‘s Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird, tribute from the impoverished District 12, plus Euphoria‘s Hunter Schafer as Tigris Snow, Josh Andrés Rivera as Sejanus Plinth, plus a bunch of young actors as various tributes and mentors.
Schwartzman was last seen in Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch. He’ll voice villain The Spot in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and have a role in Anderson’s upcoming film, Asteroid City.
Directed by Francis Lawrence, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes opens November 17th 2023.
