Viola Davis to star in ‘Hunger Games’ prequel

Viola Davis has been cast as a villain in “The Hunger Games” prequel, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.”

The film’s official Instagram released the news on Monday. The Oscar winner will play Dr. Volumnia Gaul, the head gamemaker of the 10th annual Hunger Games.

The cast for the prequel also includes Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth as young Coriolanus Snow, Jason Schwartzman, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer and Josh Andrés Rivera.

The movie will follow Suzanne Collins’ 2020 novel, “Songbirds and Snakes” and will focus on the story of Lucy Gray Baird, a tribute from District 12 in the 10th annual Hunger Games, where kids fight to the death in front of an audience.

Director Francis Lawrence talked about Davis’ character to The Hollywood Reporter, saying, “Dr. Gaul is as cruel as she is creative and as fearsome as she is formidable. Snow’s savvy as a political operator develops in no small part due to his experiences with her as the games’ most commanding figure.”