The Hunger Games is returning to big screens later this year with prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a prequel movie set over 60 years before Katniss Everdeen's first adventure.
Rachel Zegler is following up her film debut in West Wide Story and upcoming part in Shazam: Fury of the Gods with the joint-leading role of Lucy Gray Baird.
But, as it turns out, the actress actually turned down The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes at first.
Related: 8 things you never knew about The Hunger Games
Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Zelger said: "I was offered it in January of last year after wanting it so badly. I didn't audition, it was just, I got a call from my agent that was like, '[Director] Francis Lawrence wants you to do this'.
"I met with him for like three hours at the Soho Hotel in London. And then he told me that they were filming in Germany and in Poland, and I had just gotten to London and I wanted to disappear because I was so far away from home for the first time ever.
"And I was away from everybody that I knew and loved, and I said 'no'. And I regretted it the second I said it.
"I had another project lined up that fell through that got pushed into 2023 and I just kind of put my name back into the mix and got it, and I feel really bad for any of the girls [who when] I put my name back in and they were just like, 'Yup, OK, cool, we'll do it'."
Related: Yellowstone and Hunger Games star explains why he turned down Spider-Man role
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes tells the story of a young President Snow (played by Tom Blyth), when he was a young man living in poverty and trying to worm his way into the Capitol hierarchy through the then-new Hunger Games.
He works as a mentor to Lucy Gray Baird, a tribute who has a deep-seated hatred for the Capitol. Knowing the person Snow eventually becomes, you can imagine there are going to be some big twists and turns in their partnership (or you could read the novel to find out).
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is due for release on November 17. The previous Hunger Games movies are available to stream on Prime Video UK.
Scholastic The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
![The Hunger Games [Theatrical Version] (streaming)](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1560929347-51PGCDJdaDL.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "The Hunger Games [Theatrical Version] (streaming)")
Lionsgate The Hunger Games [Theatrical Version] (streaming)
Lionsgate The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (streaming)
Lionsgate The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (streaming)
Lionsgate The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (streaming)
![The Hunger Games - Complete Collection [DVD] [2015]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1560929754-512BEqKZVatL.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "The Hunger Games - Complete Collection [DVD] [2015]")
Universal/Island Records The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer and resident Welsh person at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016.
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