Eight years after the last Hunger Games film hit theaters, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes was released in theaters on Nov. 17, 2023. The movie, which is based on a book released in 2020 of the same name, is set 64 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered as tribute in the first Hunger Games film in 2012. The movie follows a young Coriolanus Snow (aka the same President Snow fans know from the first four movies) and his role as mentor for District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird in the 10th annual Hunger Games. Fans of the franchise rushed to see the world of Panem again on the silver screen, and lots of them have a big question about Lucy Gray: Is she related to Katniss? It’s possible — and this fan theory explains why. Warning: Spoilers for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes follow.
When fans first meet Lucy Gray, they know she’s from District 12, and learn she’s a part of the Covey, which is a traveling group that settled in the district that happens to know the woods and lake area well. Those who have read The Hunger Games books and seen the movies know that Katniss also knows the lake and the woods well — she says her dad used to bring her there when she was young.
That’s not the only thing linking Lucy Gray and Katniss. It’s revealed later in Songbirds & Snakes that Lucy Gray Baird wrote “The Hanging Tree,” which is the iconic song fans hear Katniss sing in the later movies that becomes the rebels’ anthem. Of course, it’s not too far off for someone to think Katniss might’ve heard the song randomly at some point growing up within the district. But in reality, “The Hanging Tree” was banned in Panem and was only sung once by Lucy Gray before being forbidden — Katniss mentions that she hadn’t sung it in a decade because of this. That means Katniss learned the song in childhood, and must have had a connection with someone else who knew the song closely.
Now, let’s look at all of this even closer. For one thing, Songbirds & Snakes is set 64 years before Katniss volunteers as tribute. That means there’s probably a generation or two between Lucy Gray and Katniss if they are related. Fans also know who Katniss’ mother is, so that rules out Lucy Gray being her mom. It’s also important to bring back the fact that Katniss’ father knows the lake well, meaning Lucy Gray and Katniss would more likely be related on her paternal side.
Fans online who have read Songbirds & Snakes theorize that Lucy Gray and Katniss aren’t directly related, but instead that Katniss is the granddaughter of Lucy Gray’s cousin, Maude Ivory, who is introduced in the movie, too. This would make sense, because Lucy Gray mentions in the movie that Maude Ivory only needs to hear a song once to remember it — a sign she must’ve done this with “The Hanging Tree.” And assuming Katniss’ father is connected to the Covey, he very well may be Maude Ivory’s future son.
Those who read Songbirds & Snakes when it was released in 2020 hoped that the connection between Lucy Gray, Maude Ivory, and Katniss would be confirmed, but unfortunately, the movie doesn’t take that step. The mystery of how these three women might be connected still hangs in the balance for fans — and maybe that’s something Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins wanted.