In step with the latest Hollywood trend, the third part of the **Divergent **book trilogy will be split into two films. According to Deadline, Lionsgate and Summit have decided to parse Veronica Roth’s Allegiant into two instalments: Allegiant Part 1, with a US release planned for March 18, 2016, and Allegiant Part 2, out on March 24, 2017. That, by our calculations, gives people who haven’t read the books 101 weeks to figure out what ‘allegiant’ means.
Divergent, the story of ass-kicking warrior-to-be Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) in sci-fi Chicago, has gone gangbusters at the studio. But with $139m gross so far, and the film still rolling out across international territories, Lionsgate have been quick to deny that the sound of kerchinging has guided its hand.
“Veronica Roth brings her captivating story to a masterful conclusion in Allegiant, a rich, action-packed book with material that is ideally suited to two strong and fulfilling movies,” said Lionsgate Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger. “The storytelling arc and world of the characters lend themselves perfectly to two films, a storytelling strategy that has worked very well for us on the two Twilight Breaking Dawn films and about which we’re tremendously enthusiastic for the two upcoming Mockingjay films of The Hunger Games franchise.”
The news might be something of a mixed blessing for Woodley, for whom the franchise has brought stardom but who may find smaller, indie projects falling by the wayside as her character, Tris, battles her way through corruption and misplaced power in dystopian Chicago in now four films.
Unlike The Hobbit, Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, this two-parter will be produced in two separate parts. And Part Deux? Well, **Insurgent **gets underway next month with **Flight **man Robert Schwentke behind the camera. Akiva Goldsman has given Brian Duffield’s script a rewrite and that one will be with us in March, just in time to join 2015’s mega movie jamboree.
So, Initiates, where is the natural break in part three? Would you place it after the attempted [spoiler] by new character [spoiler]? Share your predictions below.