IT’S confirmed! Olivia Rodrigo is joining Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” soundtrack with a new song titled, “Can’t Catch Me Now.”
The Filipino-American singer-songwriter announced this as she shared the one-minute teaser of the forthcoming film on X (formerly Twitter), where the song could be heard playing in the background.
“[S]oooo beyond excited that I got the opportunity to write a song for @TheHungerGames: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,” she said.
Lionsgate also confirmed the news on X.
“[I]t’s november (release month), olivia rodrigo is on the ballads soundtrack, and this is now a hunger games stan account!!!!” it said.
“Can’t Catch Me Now” is set to be released on November 3, days before the movie premieres on November 17 in the United States and on November 15 at SM Cinemas in the Philippines.
Rodrigo’s fans, also known as Livies, may still haven’t moved on from “GUTS,” her sophomore album she released in September, but the “vampire” singer is not yet done surprising her fans.
Speculations about Rodrigo joining the “The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes” tracklist began when she posted a TikTok video of her, doing the three-finger salute in “The Hunger Games.”
X user @OliviaRodrigoHQ, an account run by Livies, also shared a hotline phone number, which teased an instrumental version of Rodrigo’s new song.
What adds to the speculation is that actress Rachel Zegler, who will play the role of tribute Lucy Gray Baird in the upcoming “Hunger Games” film, liked the fan account’s post.
The film’s track list also includes 16 other songs, titled “The Hanging Tree,” “Wool,” “Nothing You Can Take From Me,” “The Garden,” “The Ballad of Lucy Gray Baird,” “Bury Me Beneath the Willow,” “The Old Therebefore/Singing at Snakes,” “Burn Me Once,” “District 12 Stomp,” “You Can Take From Me (Boot-Stompin version),” “Cabing Song,” “Lucy Gray (Part 1),” “Pure as the Driven Snow,” “Winter’s Come & Gone,” “Keep on the Sunny Side,” and “Lucy Gray (Part 2).
About the movie
“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” is a prequel to “The Hunger Games” in 2012, headlined by Jennifer Lawrence who portrayed Katniss Everdeen.
Directed by Francis Lawrence, the prequel will highlight the story of young Coriolanus Snow before he becomes the president of Panem, a nation divided into 12 districts controlled by the Capitol. Snow will function as a mentor to Baird, a tribute from impoverished District 12.
The forthcoming movie follows the final main installment in “The Hunger Games” film series, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2,” released in November 2015.
“The Hunger Games” will also have its first-ever stage adaptation in London in 2024.
