It’s opening Games for Rachel Zegler.
The 21-year-old Colombian Golden Globe-winning actress has offered a first look at the set of the Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes via her official TikTok account.
In the video posted to her account, Zegler gives viewers a tour of the set for the film, which is based on Suzanne Collins’ book of the same name.
The film stars Tom Blyth as a young Coriolanus Snow — who eventually grows up to become menacing antagonist President Snow in the original trilogy — who is chosen to mentor Zegler’s Lucy Gray Baird during the tenth Hunger Games. Francis Lawrence is set to direct.
“Hello, TikTok, I’m Rachel Zegler, and I’d like to show you the set of Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” the Snow White and West Wide Story actress says at the beginning of the video.
A montage of quick shots reveals what appears to be a schoolroom set for the Academy, the Capitol’s elite high school. In one shot, students dressed in pleated blood-red uniforms sit on circular white risers.
The footage also features Peter Dinklage, who plays Academy dean Casca Highbottom, dressed in an all-black ensemble, in addition to a clip of Blyth and Ashley Liao — who plays Clemensia Dovecote — dancing in their school uniforms.
“Let’s meet some of the cast,” Zegler says in the TikTok. “I see here, the lead of the film, Tom Blyth. Do you want to be in the video?” she asks the actor, who is sipping coffee at the exact moment she asks the question. Blyth gives the camera a mock glare, then tosses the coffee cup at the camera.
Zegler then shows viewers “Video Village,” which she explains is where the “director, producers, writers, dialect coaches, they all watch.”
“You can actually catch some of them in action right now,” she adds as the camera pans over to people sitting in chairs and zooms in on one of the producers working.
Zegler also introduces viewers to Josh Andrés Rivera, who plays Sejanus Plinth, one of Coriolanus Snow’s friends and a mentor to the District 2 male tribute. “And over here we have my least favorite person on set, Josh Rivera,” she says jokingly. Zegler and Rivera starred together in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story — Zegler played Maria, while Rivera played Chino.
“What’s going on, it’s Josh Rivera coming at you live,” Rivera says, taking off his sunglasses and squinting at the camera.
The video concludes with Zegler re-introducing herself. “I’m Rachel Zegler, and I play Lucy Gray Baird in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Thanks for joining me.”
The TikTok was shot by Reece Feldman, also known by @guywithamoviecamera, a TikTok creator with 1.1 million followers known for posting behind-the-scenes content of shows like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and films like Not Okay.
Cast members not featured in the behind-the-scenes footage include Hunter Schafer, who plays Coriolanus Snow’s cousin Tigris Snow, and Viola Davis, who was cast as Volumnia Gaul, the creator of the Hunger Games.
Click here to see the full TikTok video.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes premieres in theaters on Nov. 17, 2023.
The film’s release date has been pushed back a year to March 21, 2025, amidst the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.
