When news broke that Lionsgate had mapped out plans to repackage The Divergent Series for a TV finale, a fair portion of the franchise’s fanbase were understandably peeved.
Three films into the dystopian tentpole and with Ascendant tentatively pegged for 2017 release, it was the departure of director Robert Schwentke that ruffled feathers as the first sign of trouble. Some months later, and after the studio officially opted to shift its YA series to the small screen, lead stars Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley started to cast doubt over whether they would see out Divergent to the end now that Lionsgate is angling its blockbuster for another medium.
A TV finale, one that arguably sends the cult franchise out on a whimper rather than a bang, wasn’t part of their initial contracts, after all, and while doing the press rounds for Oliver Stone’s Oscar-tipped Snowden, Woodley reaffirmed that she’s harboing some apprehensions.
“Last I heard they were trying to make it into a television show. I didn’t sign up to be in a television show. Out of respect to the studio and everyone in involved, they may have changed their mind and may be doing something different, but I’m not necessarily interested in doing a television show.”
Woodley, who has headlined The Divergent Series from the off as Tris, isn’t the only cast member to display cold feet; back in July, Ansel Elgort told The Huffington Post that he was all but done with the franchise, stating, “we all really enjoyed that time we spent together and those characters. It’s obviously sad because the cast all really liked each other, but hopefully we can all work together on a different project.”
Hardly encouraging words for Lionsgate, but it remains to be seen whether those TV plans coalesce. Surely the studio’s silence on The Divergent Series is worrying, no?
