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The original Hunger Games films featured star-studded soundtracks, and the upcoming prequel film, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, is following in their footsteps.
On Wednesday, fans got a first listen at a brand-new song from GRAMMY winner Olivia Rodrigo, who recorded “Can’t Catch Me Now,” for the film.
Director Francis Lawrence raved about the new track, saying, “From the very beginning of this franchise, we have been fortunate to attract some of the world’s most talented recording artists, whose music has accentuated and complemented the drama of the films while underscoring the emotional weight carried by the characters.”
“With her highly charged lyrics and urgent voice, Olivia Rodrigo taps into all of that as much as any artist today. She’s an absolute thrill to work with and we couldn’t be more excited that her music is a part of the movie,” Lawrence added.
Rachel Zegler stars in Songbirds & Snakes as Lucy Gray Baird, the female District 12 tribute in the 10th Hunger Games, and the West Side Story star is also featured on the soundtrack with her rendition of “The Hanging Tree,” the song that Jennifer Lawrence‘s Katniss Everdeen later turns into a protest song in Catching Fire.
Lawrence’s recording went to No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time of the original Hunger Games‘ release and was certified double-platinum.
See the newest Songbirds & Snakes trailer, featuring “Can’t Catch Me Now,” below:
ET recently spoke with Francis Lawrence, who opened up about another parallel between the prequel film and original Hunger Games movies.
After being reaped, Lucy takes a mocking curtsy-bow, arms spread wide, head held high even as she faces almost-certain doom. It’s a near perfect match for the mocking bow that Katniss does after firing an arrow at the gamemakers who had written her off in the first Hunger Games film, which is set 64 years after Songbirds and Snakes.
“It was something that I made up on the day and had Rachel do, because we’re constantly looking for, in the making of this, little sort of Easter eggs that would excite the fans,” Lawrence shared. “I thought, wow, this is really cool. If she does this then, you know, Katniss could have heard generations later about this kind of rebellious, irreverent act of this woman that was a singer and did this sort of bow curtsy at the reaping.”
“It just gives a different sort of meaning to Katniss’ action,” he added, “and I think that it’s a really fun element of this movie, to get lots of those moments.”
As far as the fan speculation that the parallels between Katniss and Lucy Gray run so deep because the two are related, both Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson said they don’t believe the theory, but added that it’s open to interpretation.
“We don’t know — I love that Suzanne lets you kind of have your theories and debate,” Lawrence noted. “But we don’t know for sure. And we may never know.”
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is in theaters Nov. 17. Tickets are on sale now.
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