On this edition of AV Club’s Binge Club, what you need to watch before The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. Our experts tell you everything you need to watch ahead of this Hunger Games prequel. The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes arrives in theaters this week, which means it’s time to take the long train ride back to Panem. It’s been almost a decade since the last of the original films premiered, so you might be worried about confusing your Jabberjays with your Tracker Jackers, or remembering why this society makes a spectacle out of kids fighting to the death in the first place. Don’t worry, we have the tools to help you survive. Maybe not in the arena, but at least to the end of this latest cinematic take on the widely read YA franchise. The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes—based on the novel of the same name by Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins—is a prequel set 64 years before the events of the original series. That means you won’t see Katniss, Peeta, or (sadly) Effie and her outlandish outfits. The film isn’t really an origin story for the Hunger Games themselves, either.
