It took them a decade to do so, but The Hunger Games has finally caught up with the Twilight franchise in establishing two opposing sects of the same fandom; indeed, we had Team Edward versus Team Jacob back in the young adult fiction cinema heyday, and with Katniss Everdeen out of the spotlight for the upcoming The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, it’s time for Team Katniss versus Team Lucy to enter the fray.
That’s right; in case you didn’t have enough petty, useless internet conflicts to observe already, the latest Songbirds & Snakes trailer, thanks to its rousing yet cheeky showcase of what we can expect from Rachel Zegler’s revolutionary protagonist, has Katniss purists hissing at the prospect of Lucy Gray Baird’s time in the spotlight.
Meanwhile, the Twitter users who have read the books, aren’t completely neurotic, or simply just don’t take any joy in thoughtless complaining and comparisons, couldn’t be more enthusiastic for Zegler’s upcoming performance and have refreshingly called out the nonsense.
That’s not to say every comparison is unjust, of course; eagle-eyed fans have been having a field day with the callbacks and attention to detail ever since that trailer dropped.
The dark side of the internet may be hungry for a true Team Katniss versus Team Lucy, but Team Katniss has to contend with the unassailability of their own nonsense, while Team Lucy, whose ranks consist of people who are just looking forward to another good Hunger Games movie, is untouchable anyway.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes releases in theaters on Nov. 17.