The Hunger Games is already generating controversy with its upcoming prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. As one of the tentpoles of the YA genre in both literature and film, The Hunger Games retains a strong following that holds the generally downbeat adventures of Katniss Everdeen close to their heart. As such, there was a great deal of excitement when original author, Suzanne Collins, announced that she was writing a prequel book set during the 10th Hunger Games event. Avid readers of the initial trilogy were keen to learn about the early years of Panem and deepen their understanding of Collins’ fictional world.
Unfortunately, that early excitement has now shifted considerably if online reaction is anything to go by. This comes following the recent reveal that The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes would star a young President Snow as its protagonist. Played on-screen by Donald Sutherland, Snow is the arch antagonist of the Hunger Games franchise, the sadistic leader of Panem who makes it his personal mission to torture Katniss with a series of sadistic punishments, right up until his eventual death in the closing moments of the trilogy. Snow is a monster in human form, whose sole motivation appears to be clinging onto power and retaining his opulent lifestyle at the expense of all others. Somewhere in his motivations rests a misguided belief that what he’s doing might be in the best interests of the entire country.
The announcement that Snow would return for the Hunger Games prequel did not go down well online. The general consensus among disgruntled fans was that Snow shouldn’t be redeemed or humanized, but casting him as the protagonist of his own story indicated there will likely be an attempt to do both. What initial buzz the prequel had regarding the exploration of Panem’s history and the setting of an old-school Hunger Games tournament rapidly turned to disinterest, as fans learned the hero of the story would be the same man they spent 3 books (or 4 films) growing to hate.
Certainly, it’s hard to disagree with the sentiments of the online Hunger Games readership. Reframing President Snow as anything but an irredeemable scourge is certainly a bold and risky choice. In fairness, there’s no indication of story details or the young Snow’s characterization just yet, and Collins might yet pull off a stunning and unexpected victory with her Hunger Games prequel, even with her previous villain in the leading role. However, Snow’s new protagonist status won’t make success an easy task. If Snow is given more humanity in The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, fans will be frustrated at the changes to the villain’s personality. On the other hand, it’ll be impossible for readers to get behind the prequel’s lead character if he remains as dastardly as he was in the original trilogy.
Some of this fan skepticism might derive from recent happenings over in the Harry Potter franchise. Even more so than The Hunger Games, the Harry Potter story has a loyal and passionate following, but there has been considerable backlash over changes to canon J. K. Rowling has made either in subsequent works, the Pottermore tie-in website or merely on her social media accounts. There might be an element of fear from the Hunger Games faithful that Suzanne Collins is heading down a similar path, starting by trying to make President Snow a more sympathetic figure.
While there’s generally always a hunger to see a continuation or an expansion of a much-loved franchise, audiences tend to be wary of new material that could rewrite the original stories, as this can often feel like pulling the narrative from underneath an already complete fictional world. Bringing back President Snow, and not in his usual capacity as a villain, risks doing just that and it’ll take a deft novel from Collins to avoid it. Perhaps also there is some ill-feeling over the reported involvement of Lionsgate in the creation of the new book, with an eye on making a movie adaptation sooner rather than later. The potential for movie studio interference might’ve created a cynical foundation for the disappointment of Snow’s Hunger Games return to build upon.
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