‘Hunger Games’ Fans Slam Prequel After Learning President Snow Is The Lead

For the most part, “Hunger Games” fans were initially excited by the announcement that Suzanne Collins was writing a prequel last year. There were so many possibilities, but it seems she picked the one fans wanted the least. Many are outraged after learning that President Coriolanus Snow will be the protagonist of “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.”

As the villain of the original trilogy, fans know that Snow will grow up to be a vindictive dictator responsible for the deaths of so many innocent people. However, an introduction to an excerpt published by Entertainment Weekly reveals Snow as “a teenager born to privilege but searching for something more, a far cry from the man we know he will become. Here, he’s friendly. He’s charming. And, for now anyway, he’s a hero.”

People aren’t thrilled about the idea of Snow being a hero, even if temporarily. After all, there are plenty of characters that could be explored who readers know they can continue to root for. Many thought the prequel might focus on Mags, the elderly Hunger Games champion who died in “Catching Fire.” Others believed it might be about Haymitch, Katniss and Peeta’s mentor.

In any case, the news was shocking to readers and stirred up a bit of controversy. They took to Twitter to express their outrage and disinterest in Snow’s origin story. Some also compared it to “Joker,” the movie that creates an origin story for the famous Batman nemesis.

Of course, that’s not the case for every fan. Some readers are just excited to get a new story set in Panem and see it in a different era. Several are stating that they’ll reserve judgment until they can actually read the book for themselves.

Suzanne Collins’ name and President Snow both trended on Twitter on Tuesday. If nothing else, this controversy has certainly generated some publicity for the project, which was already highly-anticipated.

“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” will hit bookshelves on May 19.