Rachel Zegler is committing fully to the theme when it comes to promoting the newest Hunger Games franchise.
The actor stepped onto the red carpet in Berlin on Sunday for the premiere of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes with a dress that’s fit for a ball in Panem. Channeling Katniss Everdeen, who was originally played by Jennifer Lawrence in the first four films, Zegler opted for a black, mermaid-style gown by Alexander McQueen that was reminiscent of the “Girl on Fire.” The bottom of the dress featured red detailing that looked similar to flames.
While The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes place 64 years before Katniss Everdeen enters the Hunger Games ring, the callbacks to the first films are apparent in the preview, and now with Zegler’s outfit. In the second film, Katniss wears what appears to be a wedding gown that ignites fire at the bottom.
The cast of the movie is star-studded. Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage plays Dean Casca Highbottom, the creator of the actual Games; Euphoria star Hunter Schafer plays the young version of Tigris Snow; and Josh Andrés Rivera, who just so happens to be Rachel Zegler’s boyfriend offscreen, plays Sejanus Plinth, another mentor in the Games and a close friend of Snow. Schafer looked radiant in a multi-colored mid-length gown with white pumps.
The Ballad of Songbird and Snakes reached an interim agreement with SAG-AFTRA amid the ongoing strike.
The new film is a prequel that follows the early life of President Coriolanus Snow, played by Tom Blyth, and his mentee Lucy Gray Baird, played by Zegler. The story also explains the early days of the deadly games.
“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,” Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes’ official synopsis reads.
