In terms of adhering to in-world chronology, the ideal way to watch “The Hunger Games” movies is by starting with the prequel — the most recent film “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” — before following it up with the original quartet. That is, watch “Songbirds and Snakes,” followed by “The Hunger Games,” then “Catching Fire,” then “Mockingjay” parts 1 and 2.
The prequel takes place during the 10th annual Hunger Games while Katniss’ story begins at the 74th games, meaning “Songbirds” is set 64 years before the original series. In the prequel, the North American country known as Panem is still relatively young, and its government is still coming up with creative and ruthless ways to keep citizens oppressed. Rebel groups still exist, as do vibrant cultures that haven’t yet been stamped out by the Peacekeepers. By the 74th games, though, Panem is a totalitarian government from which escape seems impossible, and “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” explains how that governmental grip tightens.
The film also provides essential backstory for the book trilogy’s main villain, President Corialanus Snow (Donald Sutherland as an adult, Tom Blyth in his younger years). Before he was a dictator, Coryo was an ambitious but half-starved kid trying to pass as one of the wealthy elites of the Capitol. How did Snow go from a hottie with a heart to an old creep who everyone wishes was dead? It has something to do with a folk singer named Lucy Gray (Rachel Zegler), and by the end of the ample runtime of “Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” it’ll all make sense.