Rachel Zegler Pays Tribute to Hunger Games’ Katniss Everdeen in Fiery Dress After Getting SAG Exemption to Attend The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Premiere in Berlin

Rachel Zegler was stunned when she arrived at the premiere of Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes at Zoo Palast in Berlin, Germany on Sunday.

The actress, 22, paid tribute to original Hunger Games lead star Jennifer Lawrence (who played Katniss Everdeen) in a sleeveless black and red mermaid tail dress.

In the original films, Katniss is known as ‘The Girl on Fire’ thanks to her unique outfits that literally go up in flames. In the second film, Catching Fire, Katniss wears a wedding dress that turns into a black dress after it ignites at the bottom.

Zegler channeled the look with her dress, which featured a fiery red fabric at the bottom that resembled flames.

Despite the ongoing SAG strike, Zegler and her co-stars did not cross the picket line to attend the event, as they were granted a waiver a few weeks earlier.

The reason for the exemption was due to the fact that Lionsgate (the studio that distributes the film) is not part of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, according to TMZ.

The guild is currently on its 114th day of protesting as they continue to try to find a deal with the AMPTP.

The star – who plays Lucy Gray Baird in the film – accessorised the stunning ensemble with silver hoop earrings and some other sparkling jewellery.

The New Jersey native – whose Disney Snow White movie has been postponed amid fears it will be a ‘financial disaster’ as controversy continues after her rant on the ‘weird’ original plot featuring ‘stalker’ Prince – wore her raven braids with parting in the middle and cascading down in waves.

On the glam front, she accentuated her features with smokey eye makeup and cranberry lipstick.

Joining her on the red carpet was her co-star Tom Blyth, 28, who plays young Coriolanus Snow in the film.

The English actor looked dapper as ever in a trendy oversized black suit worn over a black T-shirt.

He paired the outfit with chunky black boots and a silver necklace.

Also in attendance was Euphoria star Hunter Schafer, 24 – who plays Tigris – who wowed in a colorful figure-hugging dress, with sleeves that stretched past her hands.

She paired the artistic ensemble with white pointed-toe heels.

In addition to Zegler, Blyth and Schafer, the star-studded cast also includes Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman, Josh Andrés Rivera and Viola Davis.

The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is a prequel set 64 years before the events of the original series.

It shows the 10th annual Hunger Games, the first time mentors are introduced to make the competition seem more “watchable.”

Fans will remember Coriolanus Snow as the tyrannical president of Panem, but in this film Blyth plays him as an 18-year-old man preparing for his only chance at glory as a mentor at the Games.

The odds are against him as he has been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring District 12’s charismatic female tribute, Lucy Gray Baird (Zegler).

Their fates are now completely intertwined; every choice Coriolanus makes can lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, the stakes couldn’t be higher as only one participant made it out alive.

Forced to watch from the outside, Coriolanus begins to feel for his doomed tribute, and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to help her survive, whatever it takes.

Peter Dinklage brings his characteristic magnetism and intensity to the role of Casca Highbottom, inventor of the Games, while Viola Davis delivers a powerhouse performance as the new ‘villain’ Dr. Volumnia Gaul.

As Head Gamemaker, her playful appearance belies a cruel personality, and in the film she unleashes the full extent of her evil by breeding Mutts (genetically modified animals) that reign terror in the arena.

She’s joined by more Hollywood royalty like Schwartzman, who provides plenty of laughs in his role as Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman – the very first host of The Hunger Games and forerunner to the infamous Caesar Flickerman (brilliantly played in Stanley Tucci’s original films ) .

Although The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is set in a war-torn dystopia, the glamor of Elizabeth Banks’ Effie Trinket is still alive with Schafer’s stellar performance as the ever-stylish Tigris Snow.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes will be released in theaters and IMAX on November 17.