Just when audiences believed “The Hunger Games” series had come to a close, Suzanne Collins released a new story in the world of Panem: “The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.” Collins published the novel in 2020, over a decade after the release of the franchise’s first novel, alongside a film deal already in the works, released Friday.

The prequel follows 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow, a high-achieving Capitol student who struggles to make ends meet. It is the year of the 10th Hunger Games — the first one to use the tributes for spectacle instead of only punishment following the war. Upholding the image of his crumbling family, Snow takes on the role of mentor for District 12’s Lucy Gray Baird, doing everything in his power to ensure she wins and he is granted a successful future.

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The leading cast members participated in a virtual press conference Nov. 12. In attendance were Rachel Zegler (Lucy Gray Baird), Tom Blyth (Coriolanus Snow), Hunter Schafer (Tigris Snow) and Josh Andrés Rivera (Sejanus Plinth).

Just like its predecessors, “The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” is both thrilling and thought-provoking. Collins uses political commentary shrouded under action and romance to discuss our relationship with the world around us, in this novel’s case, how entertainment is a tool of manipulation.

The film stays truthful to the plot of the book and is led by the original trilogy director, Francis Lawrence. As younger versions of notorious figures and new variants of familiar archetypes, the film’s cast perfectly encapsulates the story.

Differing from our familiar protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, Lucy Gray Baird is a true performer forced to become a fighter in the setting of the games. She comes from the Covey, a musical troupe that was forced to settle in District 12 after the war, uniquely using song as her choice of weapon.

During the virtual round table, Zegler spoke about her character’s ability to draw viewers in.

“She’s very persuasive in her performance and very good at getting an audience on her side,” Zegler said.

Baird’s enticing voice even entraps young Snow, whose growing hunger for power warps his understanding of love. The film shows his progression into paranoia, slowly damaging his morality and solidifying his future as the dictator of Panem audiences know.

The film’s exploration of human nature takes the messages of the original installments a step further. Alongside seeking to mindlessly entertain the masses, “The Hunger Games” examines human nature when placed in a setting where all “humanity” is stripped away. Dr. Volumnia Gaul (Viola Davis) presents both the mentors and tributes with dilemmas that test their moral compasses. As Head Gamemaker, she oversaw the games and sought to bend the rules of civilization through them.

In an unrelenting effort to succeed, Snow naively falls into her traps and spirals further into his obsession with social ascendance. Gaul’s manipulation alongside his tumultuous family history causes Snow’s inability to form true connections: familial, platonic and romantic. He learns to view people for what he can get out of them rather than how they can benefit each other.

“I hope that by the end of the film, you see three distinct [versions of] Corio,” Blyth said. “You’ve got Corio the boy, Coriolanus who is becoming a man and then Coriolanus, the future president.”

As Blyth’s performance grows progressively darker, his resemblance to the older, previously known President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland) becomes uncanny. His actions are led less by emotion and more by methodical decision-making. While the audience may pity or even sympathize with young Snow, the film’s ending solidifies him as the villain he’ll become.

One of the film’s strongest sources of tension comes from the relationship between Coriolanus Snow and Sejanus Plinth. Plinth grew up in District 2 and was only granted a spot in the Capitol through his wealthy father’s donations. The movie explores the turmoil Plinth feels about being on the opposite side of the Hunger Games, an experience opposite to that of Snow, who views the districts as rightly-punished rebels. Despite their differences in belief, the two share a heart-wrenching and complicated bond the actors execute perfectly.

Blyth and Rivera have a close relationship both on and off camera. As two of the first cast members to meet, their established chemistry aided their performances.

“The first scene we shot, actually, was when Corio has to rescue Sejanus in the arena, which if you remember is quite vulnerable and intense,” Rivera said. “It was definitely really nice that we had the luxury of getting to know each other beforehand, because I think that manifested a good amount.”

Adding onto the impact of the film’s spot-on casting, the cast members discussed how their roles intertwined with their own lives. Schafer, in particular, admitted how close she feels to Tigris Snow, the cousin of Coriolanus who adopted a maternal role in his life after their parents both died. Both she and Tigris hold family values highly.

“I feel aligned with how she sort of moves throughout the world and uses fashion as an armor,” Schafer said.

As an exploration of character, the film does an excellent job of highlighting the differing belief systems and motivations that drive their actions. It echoes “The Hunger Games” trilogy in an eerie and foreboding way, detailing the development of the Panem we know and solidifying the reasons behind Snow’s resentment toward Katniss Everdeen.

Everdeen is Baird’s foil and despite their differences, both exemplify the one aspect of life Snow continuously fails to reach: control.

As Casca Highbottom (Peter Dinklage) says in the film, “Mysteries have a way of driving people mad.”