Divergent Author Reveals Her True Feelings About The Unmade Final Movie
Taking after other young adult franchises of the time, Lionsgate had big plans for the "Divergent" movies. The idea was for the final novel to be split into two parts. However, the last installment was canceled after the first part of the "Allegiant" adaptation disappointed at the box office. That led to the "Divergent" film series falling apart, though author Veronica Roth has come to accept how things ended.
"I mean, breaking things in two was all the rage at the time. That was why that decision was made," Roth told People regarding the canceled fourth film. "But at that point, I think I always felt peace about it just because I knew the movies were taking a different track than the books, and if you change the lead up, you change the ending. So I kind of felt like at that point ... I feel like that third movie, I don't know — there's a lot we could talk about with it. But it's its own thing. It feels complete to me, relatively speaking, because what does that even mean at that point?"
It's common practice for studios to make changes to the source material when adapting a book for the big screen. But according to Roth, by the time "The Divergent Series: Allegiant" hit theaters, the franchise barely resembled the world she created in the novels. While she surely would've loved a more faithful adaptation, the creative differences eventually helped her come to terms with the film series' incomplete ending.
Divergent 4 was doomed from the start
Veronica Roth clearly wasn't happy at first with the direction the "Divergent" films took, and the line of disappointment didn't end with her. When it was clear that "Divergent 4" wouldn't meet expectations at the box office, the studio pivoted to a TV movie with plans for a subsequent spin-off series. Unfortunately for Lionsgate, that decision wound up angering many of the cast members.
"Last I heard they were trying to make it into a television show. I didn't sign up to be in a television show," franchise star Shailene Woodley said in an interview with Screen Rant, stating that she would not reprise her role as Tris if Lionsgate continued with their TV plans. "They haven't come to us to discuss deals, but if they think they can skimp on actors' options, they can think again," the representative of another "Divergent" co-star told The Hollywood Reporter, further showcasing Lionsgate's mishandling of the series' conclusion.
Ultimately, Lionsgate scrapped any plans for a finale to the "Divergent" series, and it may have been for the best. In a personal essay published in 2021, Roth detailed the harsh anger pointed her way by the fanbase after publishing the final book in the series. She received numerous death threats and violent messages for ending the novels with Tris's death, which is something that could've resurfaced had the film series ended on a similar note. And while the series could eventually get the reboot treatment, it doesn't seem likely there will ever be a "Divergent 4."