Want to stream The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Birds and Snakes? The odds are always in your favor.
In mid-May, the Hunger Games prequel will be available on the Starz streaming service. The film, based on Suzanne Collins' 2020 book of the same name, follows 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth), who is not yet the tyrannical president seen in previous films, but rather “the last hope for his declining bloodline, a once-proud family that fell from grace in the postwar Capitol,” by an official synopsis. Young Snow is supposed to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from District 12. The film depicts the 10th annual Hunger Games – Katniss Everdeen, for reference, volunteered for the 74th.
The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes will arrive on Starz about six months after its theatrical debut, where it grossed more than $330 million at the worldwide box office. The film also stars Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, Jason Schwartzman and Viola Davis. Here's how you can stream the dystopian story on the Starz app and how a VPN can improve the experience.
The Ballad Songbirds & Snakes hit theaters in November.
When can you watch the Hunger Games prequel on Starz
Viewers in the US can access The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Birds and Snakes on Starz in May 14 at 12:01 pm ET (May 13 at 9:01 pm PT).
The ad-free streaming service costs $10 per month. If you can't wait to see what happens in the 10th Hunger Games, you can also rent The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes digitally from services like Amazon It is Fandango at home (formerly Vudu) for $6.
Netflix is streaming the four previous Hunger Games films: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay – Part 1 and Mockingjay – Part 2.
The Starz catalog includes original series such as Outlander, P-Valley and Party Down. Lionsgate films like John Wick: Chapter 4, Expend4bles and the new Hunger Games are also in the mix. Read our Starz review.
How to watch the Hunger Games prequel from anywhere with a VPN
Maybe you're traveling abroad and want to stream Starz while you're out and about. With a VPN, you can virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to access the movie from anywhere in the world. There are other good reasons to use a VPN for streaming too.
A VPN is the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds by encrypting your traffic. Using a VPN is also a great idea if you're traveling and connected to a Wi-Fi network and want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins. Streaming TV can be a little smoother with a quality, reliable VPN that has passed our tests and security standards.
You can use a VPN to stream content legally, as long as VPNs are allowed in your country and you have a valid subscription to the streaming service you are using. The US and Canada are among the countries where VPNs are legal, but we advise against streaming or downloading content on illegal torrent sites. We recommend ExpressVPN, but you can opt for another provider from our best list, like Surfshark or NordVPN.
If you're looking for a secure and reliable VPN, our Editors' Choice is ExpressVPN. It's fast, works across devices, and provides stable streams. It normally costs $13 per month, but currently costs less overall for a 12-month subscription, where each month reaches $8.32.
ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. Read our ExpressVPN review.
Follow your VPN provider's instructions for installation and choose a country where The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes will be broadcast on Starz. Before opening the streaming app, make sure you are connected to the VPN using the selected region. If you want to stream The Hunger Games prequel on more than one device, you may need to configure each one to ensure it's connected. Go to settings and check your network connections to make sure you are logged in and signed in to your VPN account. Now you're ready to open Starz to stream.
If you have problems with streaming, first make sure your VPN is up and running on your encrypted IP address. Double-check that you followed the installation instructions correctly and chose the correct geographic area for viewing. If you still encounter connection issues, you may need to restart your device. Close all apps and windows, restart your device and connect to the VPN first. Please note that some streaming services have VPN access restrictions.
