Euphoria‘s Hunter Schafer has been cast in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes from Lionsgate. The movie is a prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy, which starred Jennifer Lawrence as archer extraordinaire Katniss Everdeen, and will center on young Coriolanus Snow, played by Tom Blyth.
The report from Variety confirms Schafer will play the cousin of Coriolanus Snow, Tigris Snow. She’s his trusted confidante, and canonically an old acquaintance of Cressida and Plutarch. She’s a gifted stylist who resides in the Capitol and her family name gives her a wealth of access beyond that of normal citizens.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes place in post-war Capitol, and will see Snow mentor District 12’s Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler) for the 10th annual Hunger Games. He’ll show signs of his psychopathy in his younger years, before he fully becomes the irredeemably terrible autocratic leader Katniss and her team righteously bring down.
Schafer is best known for her role as Jules in Euphoria, a teenage trans girl trying to find her way and the love interest of Rue (Zendaya). The series gets a lot of flack for its mature themes, but co-star Sydney Sweeney said she felt safe shooting the intimate scenes the story calls for.
Schafer’s currently in production on Cuckoo, and will star in the horror feature Luz directed by Tilman Singer.
Francis Lawrence, who directed Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part One, and Mockingjay Part Two, will direct The Ballads of Songbirds and Snakes, which comes to theaters Nov. 17, 2023.