He survived being shot at, blown up and chased as John McClane’s son Jack in A Good Day To Die Hard. He even managed to make it through an interrogation in Empire’s own pod booth (check that out below). Now Jai Courtney is off for some dystopian future antics, signing on to the cast of Neil Burger’s YA adaptation Divergent.
Shailene Woodley has locked in a deal to star as Tris, a young woman in a strange future Chicago where society is divided up into groups according to certain human traits. Everyone is sorted into the appropriate group at 16, but Tris learns she’s a “divergent,” someone who doesn’t strictly belong in any one group.
Though that might make it sound like she has options, it’s actually more dangerous than she first knows, as she discovers a conspiracy to destroy all those like her. Deadline doesn’t specify who Courtney will be playing, but we’d guess at Tobias “Four” Eaton, Tris’ instructor and the man she falls for.
Vanessa Taylor adapted the script from Veronica Roth’s bestseller. And while Maggie Q, Zoe Kravitz and Ansel Elgort were reportedly fully on board a few days ago, they’re apparently still figuring out deals. We’d expect them all to jump officially aboard soon, though.
Burger will be starting shooting soon, aiming at a March 21, 2014 release. Courtney has most recently worked on Felony alongside Joel Edgerton and comic book adaptation** I, Frankenstein**.