Rachel Zegler is hot on the heels of the success of her Golden Globe-nominated role in West Side Story and she’s just been cast in another major project. The 21-year-old actress is set to play Lucy Gray Baird in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
This highly-anticipated prequel takes place before the events of The Hunger Games franchise and centers on the 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow before he went on to become the tyrannical president of Panam.
Tom Blyth had recently been cast as the young Coriolanus Snow and he’ll be joined by Rachel Zegler in the role of Lucy Gray Baird, the girl tribute from impoverished District 12 that he’s set to mentor after she captured Capitol’s attention with her singing abilities during the reaping ceremony.
Francis Lawrence, who’s set to return as the director, believes that Zegler is the perfect choice for this role and that she’ll make the character unforgettable.
“I first saw Rachel Zegler in West Side Story, and like everybody, I knew I was watching a star who would command the screen for a generation. Lucy Gray is a perfect match for her as an actress: the character is bold, independent, and defiant, but also vulnerable, emotional, and loving,” said Lawrence in a statement.
Zegler is attached to several more high-profile projects including Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Disney’s live-action adaptation of Snow White.
