Warning: This story contains spoilers for "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes."
"The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" is set almost 60 years before Katniss Everdeen steps foot into an arena. But the prequel is chock full of Easter eggs that reference the original "Hunger Games" trilogy.
Only two characters overlap in "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" — Coriolanus Snow and his cousin, Tigris. President Snow was original portrayed by Donald Sutherland, while Tom Blyth takes the lead as his younger self.
The hints at the events of "The Hunger Games," range from blink-and-you-miss visuals to familiar tunes like "The Hanging Tree."
The most obvious clue comes when Lucy Gray and Coriolanus spend a day together lakeside. One of Lucy Gray's fellow members of the Covey — a traveling group of performers relegated to District 12 — picks a swamp potato, and Lucy Gray shares her preferred name for it: katniss.
Nina Jacobson, who produced the original trilogy and its prequel, tells TODAY.com that the plant represents sturdiness and resilience while still being a beautiful flower.
"I love the moment," Jacobson tells TODAY.com. "I can't wait to watch an audience and that first moment."
However, like the film's ending, the significance of the katniss reference remains a mystery, one that likely lies with the books' author, Suzanne Collins.
"We wonder, 'How does that become a name that we know years later?'" she says. "I still don't know the answer to that, Suzanne hasn't told me what the connection is. But I love wondering about it. Have I met the character who's related? Who is it? Which one is it? And how did it come to be?"
Here are some of the references to the original "Hunger Games" trilogy found in "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes."
Lucy Gray Baird's bow
One "Hunger Games" reference appeared months before the release of "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes." The film's trailer contained a scene when after she is reaped to be a tribute in the 10th Hunger Games, Lucy Gray Baird, played by Rachel Zegler, bows for the camera.
Many fans immediately noticed the similarity between Lucy Gray and Katniss, who notably bowed before the gamemakers, the people responsible for devising the obstacles the tributes face in the arena, in the first "Hunger Games" film.
Zegler later revealed on X that the moment was improv.
"this was an ad-lib :’)," she tweeted, responding to a fan pointing out the parallel, in April.
Zegler says that while Lucy Gray and Katniss are both "war-torn teenagers," they are not the same. Lucy Gray loves a performance and keeps things "morally gray," she told TODAY.com.
Character last names
"The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" brings a new cast of characters, but some may sound familiar. Star Hunter Schafer says her favorite Easter egg is the familiar last names referencing characters from the original trilogy.
"The last names are really cool because they are the ancestors of other people that we meet later on in the books," Schafer tells TODAY.com.
For example, the commentator of the games is Lucky Flickerman, played by Jason Schwartzman. By the time Katniss and Peeta stepped into the arena, that role was filled by Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci).
The bow and arrow
Throughout the process of making "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes," director Francis Lawrence says the team wanted to find "connective pieces" that tie the prequel into the trilogy.
One Easter egg served as a quick nod to Katniss through her signature weapon — but it's easy to miss.
"I placed a broken bow with a quiver of arrows in the arena when Snow is walking through that he sees, just as a quick nod to Katniss in the future," Francis Lawrence says.
'The Hanging Tree'
The signature song from "The Hunger Games" is "The Hanging Tree." The song's lyrics were originally written by Suzanne Collins, appearing in "Mockingjay," before it was set to music and sung in the films by Jennifer Lawrence.
While the song has since become a calling card for the “Hunger Games” films, Jennifer Lawrence dreaded singing it, Francis Lawrence tells TODAY.com.
“Jen was really nervous, basically cried all day because she hated singing and singing in front of people,” he says. “And I kept saying, ‘You don’t have to be a perfect singer, you’re just a normal girl you happens to know a song that’s been passed down through generations.’”
“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” provides a backstory for that song.
It's revealed that Lucy Gray Baird is the original composer of "The Hanging Tree." The song was written about an execution of a man accused of being a rebel and murdering three people in District 12. Lyrics like "Where dead man called out for his love to flee?" reference his death, as he shouted for his lover to run as he was killed.
"You see (Lucy Gray) in the meadow that we've seen Katniss in in the earlier films, playing and singing and figuring that out. And you actually see the hanging tree itself. You start to understand the origins of all these things," Francis Lawrence says.
Lucy Gray's fate is left uncertain, so its unclear how the tune passed down. Katniss Everdeen eventually learned the song from her father but rarely sang it as it was "forbidden." After she performs it in "Mockingjay," it becomes a song that galvanizes the revolution against the Capitol.
Snow's white roses
Throughout the "Hunger Games" trilogy, President Snow's calling card is a white rose, often left for his enemies before he bombs or kills them.
The backstory of the roses is told in "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes." Snow's grandmother, despite their poor financial status, grew them on the roof of their apartment and took great care to preserve them through the war. It's said his late mother also wore rose-scented perfume.
When Lucy Gray arrived at the Capitol before the start of the Hunger Games, Coriolanus met her at the train and gave her a rose as a welcoming.
The flower's symbolism takes a dark turn in between the prequel and the trilogy. Snow continued to always wear a rose, but for their scent.
It's revealed that to maintain his power and position as president, Snow would poison adversaries but often drank the poison himself to avoid blame. He'd take an antidote, but it left sores, and roses covered the scent of blood.
Katniss
The word "katniss" appears a few times in "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes." It first introduces the hardy plant that help feed the Covey. But in the end, it becomes one of Lucy Gray's last words before she seemingly disappears, her fate left uncertain.
As her suspicions of Coriolanus grow, she tells him she's going to collect katniss before they flee District 12. But she doesn't return, and Coriolanus seems to never find her.
Fan theories about her fate are rampant: Did she die? Did she escape? Is she somehow an ancestor to Katniss Everdeen?
We're meant to be left wondering, Jacobson says.
"These stories got passed down for generations so the movies that we first saw were recipients of these songs and these stories," she says. "I love the way that the stories weave together, but also the fact that Suzanne is not super prescriptive about it."
