Viola Davis Joins ‘Hunger Games’ Prequel as Volumnia Gaul

John Boyega's dad is his biggest fan and wears t-shirts with his son's face on them. The 30-year-old actor - who portrayed Finn in the 'Star Wars' sequel trilogy films 'The Force Awakens', 'The Last Jedi' and 'The Rise of Skywalker' - has revealed his pop Samson Adegboyega is so proud of his son's acting that he parades around the house in a Boyega t-shirt. He told the 'Happy Sad Confused' podcast: "My dad is a big fan, he's a big Boyega fan.

Causeway” (A24/Apple Original Films) Though Jennifer Lawrence had a juicy supporting role in Adam McKay’s disaster comedy “Don’t Look Up” last year, we have not seen the former Katniss Everdeen in the driver’s seat of a film since the one-two punch of “Mother!” and “Red Sparrow” (released in 2017 and 2018, respectively). She returns in earnest at TIFF with “Causeway,” about a soldier with a traumatic brain injury trying to readjust to normal life. 

is going to arrive in force, isn’t it?Please?That’s the feeling in the community I like to think of as Hollywood’s Kudo-Industrial Complex. That community limped through one year, 2020, in which theaters were closed, film festivals were canceled or moved online and almost all the shows were virtual; and a second year, 2021, that started out to be a cautiously muted season but was then blindsided by a COVID resurgence that forced a return to streaming and virtual events.Now, as the Venice Film Festival begins on Wednesday, followed by the three-day Telluride Film Festival on Friday and then the mammoth Toronto International Film Festival next Thursday, there’s a palpable yearning for things to return to normal.

EXCLUSIVE: Nashville and Heroes star Hayden Panettiere has signed with APA.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Zurich Film Festival has selected some of the year’s most anticipated auteur films and high-brow Hollywood movies in its Gala Premieres section. Among other films, the fest screens the European premieres of “The Woman King,” with Viola Davis, and “Bros” by Nicholas Stoller. It also plays “The Son” by Florian Zeller. “Of the 145 films in this year’s festival program, we are able to show more than a quarter of them as world or European premieres – more than ever before in the festival’s history,” Christian Jungen, artistic director, says. “We are particularly proud to be holding the European premieres of Gina Prince-Bythewood’s historical epic ‘The Woman King,’ in which Academy Award-winner Viola Davis leads an international Black cast, as well as the gay romantic comedy ‘Bros’ by Nicholas Stoller, who cast all LGBTQ+ actors for the film. These two movies are a testament to the diverse talent working in Hollywood cinema, and we are very excited to be bringing them to a European audience.”

Variety Staff Follow Us on Twitter Variety will return to the Toronto Film Festival this year with its annual interview studio, in partnership with King’s Hawaiian. Running from Sept. 9 to Sept. 12, the Variety Studio presented by King’s Hawaiian will include interviews with cast members and directors from the top movies premiering at the Toronto Film Festival. Talent includes Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Florian Zeller and Christopher Hampton (“The Son”); Mark Mylod, Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Menu”); Gina Prince-Bythewood, Viola Davis, John Boyega, Lashana Lynch, Thuso Mbedu, Sheila Atim and Cathy Schulman (“The Woman King”); Rian Johnson, Daniel Craig, Janelle Monáe, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr. and Madelyn Cline (“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”); Darren Aronofsky, Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins and Sam Hunter (“The Whale”); Peter Farrelly, Zac Efron and Ruby Serkis (“The Greatest Beer Run Ever”); Tyler Perry, Solea Pfeiffer and Joshua Boone (“A Jazzman’s Blues”); and Lila Neugebauer, Jennifer Lawrence and Justine Polsky (“Causeway”). Talent and creators from the following projects will also participate in the studio: “Inspection,” “The Fabelmans,” “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story,” “Bros,” “On the Come Up,” “The Good Nurse,” “The Eternal Daughter,” “Sanctuary,” “Empire of Light,” “Devotion” and “Catherine Called Birdy.”

The actor who played "Finn" in Disney's "Star Wars" sequel trilogy, John Boyega, says he's ready to move on from the franchise.  Currently, Boyega is set to star in the upcoming films "The Woman King" and "Breaking."  "At this point I’m cool off it. I’m good off it," Boyega said on the SiriusXM show "Tell Me Everything With John Fugelsang."  "I think Finn is at a good confirmation point where you can just enjoy him in other things, the games, the animation. But I feel like ‘[Episode] VII’ to ‘[Episode] IX’ was good for me," he added.

EXCLUSIVE: Kirill Sokolov set to direct TriStar Pictures’ thriller Ultra, with script penned by Colin Bannon. TriStar Pictures preemptively purchased the spec amid significant buzz in November 2021, just before it placed in the Top Ten on the Black List in December. Plot details are being kept under wraps.

Ethan Shanfeld John Boyega became an international breakout star playing Finn in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy. But the actor, who stars in upcoming films “Breaking” and “The Woman King,” doesn’t have much of an interest in returning to the galactic franchise. “At this point I’m cool off it. I’m good off it,” Boyega said on SiriusXM’s “Tell Me Everything With John Fugelsang.” “I think Finn is at a good confirmation point where you can just enjoy him in other things, the games, the animation. But I feel like ‘[Episode] VII’ to ‘[Episode] IX’ was good for me.” Boyega added: “To be fair, [with] the allies that I’ve found within Joel Taylor and Jamie Foxx, Teyonah Parris, Viola Davis, all these people I’ve been working with… versatility is my path.”

The first look photo from the upcoming The Hunger Games prequel movie has been released!

, which features stars Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth.In the shot, Zegler's Lucy Gray Baird, wearing a purple dress, holds hands with Blyth's Coriolanus Snow, who's sporting a T-shirt and jeans, as the pair lounge on a blanket outside. The film, a prequel to the franchise, follows 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow years before he becomes the tyrannical President of Panem. In the flick, Snow is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol.With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, the girl tribute from impoverished District 12.

The Hunger Games are back.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterLet the 10th Hunger Games begin!Lionsgate is teasing a first look at “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” a prequel story set in the bleak world of Panem. The movie, which takes place long before the odds were in Katniss Everdeen’s favor in the popular “Hunger Games” franchise, centers on Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow (the eventual tyrannical ruler of the dystopian nation) and Rachel Zegler as tribute Lucy Gray Baird.The new photo gives a glimpse at the 18-year-old Snow, who is chosen to mentor Baird during the 10th Hunger Games — the highly publicized event in which teenagers are chosen via lottery to fight to the death.

“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” has released its official first look image of its young stars Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth as Lucy Gray Baird and the young Coriolanus Snow.Based on Suzanne Collins’ novel of the same name, the plot to this highly anticipated prequel film will follow Snow pre-tyranny. As an 18-year-old, he is a top student at the elite Panem’s Academy, selected to train Lucy, a District 12 tribute, who becomes his mentee.

Though Viola Davis is an actress that has earned a ton of awards and acclaim over the course of her career, she’s never been one to shy away from a good role in a franchise. Most recently, she’s shown up as Amanda Waller in a number of DC superhero films.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterViola Davis is headed to Panem as the head gamemaker in “The Hunger Games” prequel, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.”The Lionsgate movie is based on the 2020 book of the same name, which takes place decades before the adventures of Katniss Everdeen in “The Hunger Games.” The prequel story is focused on 18-year-old Snow, who eventually becomes the tyrannical leader of the dystopia known as Panem. In “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” he’s chosen to be mentor during the 10th Hunger Games, a televised event in which teenagers are chosen via lottery to fight to the death.Davis, who is playing Volumnia Gaul, the mastermind of the diabolical teen death-match, will star opposite Tom Blyth as young Coriolanus Snow, Rachel Zegler as tribute Lucy Gray Baird, Hunter Schafer as Snow’s cousin and confidante Tigris Snow and Peter Dinklage as Academy dean Casca Highbottom.

Viola Davis (The Woman King) is the latest addition to the cast of Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The Oscar winner has been tapped for the role of Head Gamemaker Volumnia Gaul, joining an ensemble led by Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler.

  prequel, ET is keeping track of all the stars who will play the mentors, tributes and pivotal decision-makers in this new saga, set years before Katniss Everdeen entered the Hunger Games arena.The upcoming film tells the origin story of the franchise’s dystopian president and ringleader, Coriolanus Snow, played by Tom Blyth, and friends and enemies that shaped him into the nefarious leader fans saw in the original trilogy.Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis will portray Head Gamemaker Volumnia Gaul. «Dr.