Donald Sutherland (“President Snow”) stars in Lionsgate Home Entertainment’s THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE. Photo Credit: Murray Close/Lionsgate
When Scholastic announced that author Suzanne Collins would be penning a Hunger Games prequel novel set 64 years prior to the events of the original trilogy, most fans assumed we’d be returning to the deadly arena through the eyes of another tribute. After all, there aren’t many characters from the trilogy who aren’t victims of the Capitol’s annual Hunger Games — and the past setting means this story will take place long before Katniss and her companions ever start a rebellion and reclaim Panem for its people.
This is why so many were shocked by the revelation that the prequel novel, A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, will actually tell the backstory of Corolianus Snow — yes, the same President Snow who torments Katniss for three books before finally meeting his demise in Mockingjay. Entertainment Weekly released an excerpt of the book’s first chapter, along with a description that describes Snow as a “teenager born to privilege but searching for something more” and “for now anyway, a hero.” Yikes.
While villain origin stories are no doubt interesting — and the news that we’ll be following Snow wins points for how unexpected it is — many have begun to point out how problematic painting a murderous tyrant as an unsung hero might be, particularly knowing how his story ends. There are questions regarding just how much fans want to humanize or relate to a character like Snow, and they’re fair points to make. Knowing what he becomes will also make it difficult to truly engage with the character, as most fans already don’t care much for him.
The backlash to Snow being the book’s protagonist has also brought up other conversations about the series, including which other characters we’d like to see take the lead in a prequel. Because, let’s be honest, there are way better options than Snow.
In fact, here are seven characters we’d rather follow in a Hunger Games prequel.