Universal Republic will release soundtrack and score albums related to "The Hunger Games," the Lionsgate film that T Bone Burnett and Danny Elfman are collaborating on as composers, Billboard.com has learned. In addition to their instrumental work, Universal Republic will release collections of the songs featured in the film and songs directly influenced by the themes -- freedom, rebellion, survival, family -- and subject matter of the film.

Burnett, billed as executive music producer, will oversee all production and will produce many of the individual tracks being recorded by new and established artists. Music for the film is still in the planning stages and releases are expected to coincide with the film's March 23 theatrical release. The film and companion music will feature original recordings, but decision has been made on how many sets will be released.

Set in the future, the film's music is expected to cross multiple genres, Lionsgate's head of music Tracy McKnight says. "The list of artists that could participate, and the opportunities for them to write and record, are really unlimited," she said in a statement.

The music is expected to fit the moods of the film's locales: an area that resembles the South; a futuristic metropolis; and a forested arena where the games take place.

Set in the ruins of North America, the Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which teenagers - aka Tributes -- must fight with one another until one survivor remains. A central character, the impoverished Katniss Everdeen, is forced to make dramatic choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

"The Hunger Games" is expected to be the first of four films based on Suzanne Collins' best-selling novels. Gary Ross is the director.