Viola Davis Joins ‘The Hunger Games’ Franchise
Viola Davis is officially joining The Hunger Games franchise.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Davis will play Head Gamemaker Volumnia Gaul in Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. It is a prequel to the hugely successful franchise that starred Jennifer Lawrence.
The outlet reports the prequel’s synopsis reads: “Years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, the girl tribute from impoverished District 12. But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird and a snake.”
Director Francis Lawrence dished on Davis’ character, who is a villain. “Dr. Gaul is as cruel as she is creative and as fearsome as she is formidable,” Lawrence says. “Snow’s savvy as a political operator develops in no small part due to his experiences with her as the games’ most commanding figure.”
Davis celebrated the news by writing on Twitter, “Glad to be a part of this universe.”