The song is the first single from the new Hunger Games film
Olivia Rodrigo has shared the official video for “Can’t Catch Me Now” from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (Music From & Inspired By), the official soundtrack to Lionsgate’s highly anticipated new film in The Hunger Games saga, in theaters Friday. The clip was directed by award-winning director Leonn Ward (Michael Kiwanuka, Celeste) of RSA’s Black Dog Films. The 17-song soundtrack is due out November 17th via Geffen Records, the same day as the movie’s release.
“Can’t Catch Me Now” marks Rodrigo’s first contribution to a film soundtrack. She penned the song with producer Daniel Nigro, who also collaborated with the 20-year-old artist on her chart-topping, Grammy-nominated sophomore album Guts. Rodrigo has earned six nods for the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.
Executive-produced by nine-time Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, Sturgill Simpson), The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (Music From & Inspired By) also includes many of roots music’s most dynamic artists who contributed new songs inspired by the film. Along with Flatland Cavalry (a widely beloved Texas-bred sextet), those artists include Molly Tuttle (winner of the Best Bluegrass Album prize at the 2023 Grammy Awards), Billy Strings (named Artist Of The Year at the 2022 Americana Music Awards), genre-bending luminary Sierra Ferrell, and fast-rising country/folk singer/songwriters Bella White and Charles Wesley Godwin.
The first song released from the soundtrack, “The Hanging Tree,” premiered on October 20th. In the upcoming film (a prequel to the original Hunger Games trilogy), audiences will witness the origin of the storied song when Lucy Gray Baird (Zegler) sings it for the very first time. Also heard in the second official trailer for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, “The Hanging Tree” has been passed down through generations and was previously performed by Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1.
Fans can view a featurette to go behind the scenes with film director Francis Lawrence, producer Nina Jacobson, and Cobb as they discuss the creative process for the film’s original songs. This exclusive new look at the music of the film shows how the filmmakers, composer James Newton Howard, and Zegler bring the songs from Suzanne Collins’ bestselling novel to life, with previously unseen footage.
The latest release in the blockbuster franchise, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes takes place 64 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered as tribute, and decades before Coriolanus Snow became the tyrannical president of Panem. The new film stars Zegler alongside Tom Blyth, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, Jason Schwartzman, and Viola Davis.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes follows a young Coriolanus (Blyth) who is the last hope for his failing lineage, the once-proud Snow family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With his livelihood threatened, Snow is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, a tribute from the impoverished District 12. But after Lucy Gray’s charm captivates the audience of Panem, Snow sees an opportunity to shift their fates. With everything he has worked for hanging in the balance, Snow unites with Lucy Gray to turn the odds in their favor. Battling his instincts for both good and evil, Snow sets out on a race against time to survive and reveal if he will ultimately become a songbird or a snake.
