The Maze Runner Writer Will Script Divergent Threequel Allegiant – Part 1

Though the second installment of Summit Entertainment’s Divergent series, titled Insurgent, is still shooting in Atlanta and isn’t due to hit theaters until next March, producers are already kicking threequel Allegiant – Part 1 into gear by recruiting Noah Oppenheim to script the entry, which will serve as the franchise’s penultimate installment.

It’s not too surprising that Summit is being aggressive with Allegiant – Part 1, which handles roughly half of Veronica Roth’s trilogy capper, considering that the dystopian action/adventure is due to open in 2016, just one year after Insurgent. What is a little odd is that scribe Akiva Goldsman (Winter’s Tale), who re-wrote Brian Duffield’s original script for the second installment, hasn’t been asked back, at least not yet. Perhaps producers feel that the franchise could use a fresh new voice, or maybe Goldsman just doesn’t have the time. He’s already plenty busy, directing an upcoming horror movie called Stephanie and producing King Arthur.

Oppenheim most recently worked on Fox’s The Maze Runner, also a YA adaptation (it’s based on James Dashner’s bestseller of the same name). No word on whether he’ll also be handling Allegiant – Part 2 for Summit, but that will likely depend on what producers think of his work on this third installment.

Shailene Woodley and Theo James star in the Divergent franchise, which is set in a futuristic Chicago where people are divided into factions based on certain character traits. When Tris Prior (Woodley) discovers that she’s ‘divergent,’ not fitting easily into one faction, she uncovers a plot against those like her, which threatens to plunge Chicago into an all-out war. Insurgent, directed by Robert Schwentke, continues Tris’ story while introducing new friends and enemies.

In addition to Woodley and James, Insurgent will feature Kate Winslet, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Zoë Kravitz, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q and Mekhi Phifer (all returning from Divergent), along with new recruits like Naomi Watts, Daniel Dae Kim, Rosa Salazar, Keiynan Lonsdale, Octavia Spencer, Suki Waterhouse and Jonny Weston.

Insurgent opens March 20th, 2015. It will be followed by Allegiant – Part 1 on March 18th, 2016, and then Allegiant – Part 2 on March 24th, 2017.