Divergent Gamble Fails As Final Film Heads Straight To TV

The final film in the ‘Divergent’ series looks set to skip cinemas completely with Variety reporting that 2017′s ‘The Divergent Series: Ascendant’ will instead be a made-for-TV movie.

Variety’s source - “an individual with knowledge of the situation” - says Lionsgate is planning to finish the series on the small screen before launching a spin-off TV series set in the same dystopian world, but with a new cast.

It’s not yet clear whether the film’s stars Shailene Woodley, Theo James, and Miles Teller will return for the TV film.

The move comes off the back of the dwindling box office performance of the franchise that took risky the decision to split the final book of the series into two films.

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2014′s ‘Divergent’ made $288 million (£219m) worldwide and 2015′s ‘Insurgent’ took $297 million (£225m), but the third film ‘Allegiant’ only took $179 million (£135m) which - according to Variety’s source - caused the studio to rethink the final film which was due to shoot this summer in Atlanta.

The films, based on Veronica Roth’s trilogy of hit YA novels, followed the path of splitting the final book first taken by the Harry Potter franchise. Warner Bros. decided to split ‘The Deathly Hallows’ into two, releasing the brace of final movies in 2010 and 2011, with both films taking around $2bn combined.

The ‘Twilight’ franchise also followed suit successfully releasing ‘Breaking Dawn’ in two parts, but it seems the gamble hasn’t paid off for Lionsgate with public interest in the series rapidly declining.

Image credit: Lionsgate