Rachel Zegler's Hunger Games Character Is The 'Anti-Katniss' - Here's Why
If you think the "Hunger Games" prequel "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" is going to be just like the older films, think again — because director Francis Lawrence says the two leading ladies couldn't possibly be more different, despite both being natives of Panem's District 12.
Rachel Zegler, the breakout star of Steven Spielberg's 2021 remake of "West Side Story," is set to play the lead role of Lucy Gray Baird in "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" — and Lawrence (a bit inelegantly, but we'll get to that) told Empire Magazine that Lucy and Katniss Everdeen, the original "Hunger Games" heroine made famous by Jennifer Lawrence, are extremely different. What it boils down to is that Lucy, a musician, is a charismatic and charming performer, whereas Katniss is a hardscrabble hunter whose sole purpose before the Hunger Games was simply trying to survive in the hostile District 12.
Lawrence even went so far as to call Zegler's Lucy the "anti-Katniss," saying Katniss and Lucy are essentially totally different. "Katniss was an introvert and a survivor," he continued. "She was quite quiet and stoic, you could almost say [she was] asexual. Lucy Gray is the opposite. She wears her sexuality on her sleeve, [and] she really is a performer. She loves crowds. She knows how to play crowds and manipulate people."
Katniss Everdeen was withdrawn — and not a performer
Calling Katniss "asexual" seems like it's going just a bit too far, but Lawrence's essential thesis about the young tribute from District 12 isn't fully in bad faith. When we meet Katniss in the first book and film, she's highly protective of her mother and sister and spends her time illegally hunting in the woods outside of the district with her childhood best friend Gale (Liam Hemsworth). Before long, she's forced to compete in the Hunger Games — a brutal ritual devised by the all-powerful Capitol to keep the districts in line, where two children from each district are sent to fight to the death — when her sister Primrose (Willow Shields) is chosen, and Katniss volunteers in her stead.
Author Suzanne Collins threw a somewhat obligatory love triangle into the franchise — throughout it, Katniss is torn between Gale and her Hunger Games ally turned stage boyfriend Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) — but in the books, which are told from Katniss' first-person perspective, it's clear love isn't her first priority. This is extremely understandable, especially when, in "Mockingjay," she becomes the face of a dangerous revolution. Katniss does have sporadic romantic feelings, but relationships aren't at the front of her mind... which, frankly, is refreshing for a young adult heroine.
Francis Lawrence stirred up controversy with these Katniss-Lucy comparisons
Unsurprisingly, Lawrence's comments invited a lot of discussion on the Internet... and fans were, frankly, really unhappy about him comparing Lucy and Katniss in a way they found to be kind of unfavorable. As @TVandDinners said on Twitter, "Katniss wasn't "almost asexual" ffs. She was BUSY." @mirrorballboobs took issue with Lawrence's wording, writing, "stoic/introverted ≠ asexual. katniss was a literal child forced to fight for her life, repeatedly. not only did she have much more important things to tend to than sex, like surviving, but she also didn't want to bring anyone else into her life while it was so unsafe."
@bluehoodiebaby agreed with the majority, opining, "hunger games discourse will never make sense bc katniss literally witnessed her home being blown to bits and yet her sexuality or lack thereof is still supposed to be the most important part of her." @sixofsongbirds wasn't specific about Lawrence's characterization of Katniss, but was pretty clear: "if they don't stop with the unnecessary katniss vs lucy gray comparisons im gonna lose my mind before this movie is even out."
Elsewhere, @dioinysus felt as if Lawrence's comments were extremely gendered, saying, "only a male director would describe it like that PLEASE like why are you sexualizing their behavior when THE POINT is that they're children. the main difference is that lucy was a performer katniss was known for being unable to do that exact thing." As for @lisasjoint, they didn't fully disagree with Lawrence, but again, took issue with his wording: "he's not entirely wrong here regarding the asexual comment. it's not that katniss is "asexual" (we know she isn't) it's that her entire identity within the games is sexless. if it sounds icky to say that about a 16 year old it's because it's supposed to be."
Rachel Zegler almost didn't star in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Amidst all of this discourse, we've still got Zegler's highly anticipated performance as the District 12 songstress and tribute Lucy Gray Baird ahead of her... but as she told the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast in the spring of 2023, she almost didn't even take the role.
"I was offered it in January of last year after wanting it so badly," Zegler revealed. "I didn't audition. It was just I got a call from my agent that was like, 'Francis Lawrence wants you to do this.' And 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." Luckily for everybody, Zegler did end up taking the role... and for anyone who's seen her in "West Side Story," they know she's got the voice and the acting chops to pull off this complex role, just as Jennifer Lawrence perfected the — equally amazing — role of Katniss before her.
"The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" is set to release on November 17, 2023.