Following a sharp rise in book sales for author Veronica Roth’s 2011 YA publication of Divergent in light of Lionsgate’s boosted earnings from the 2013 theatrical release of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the studio has been busy fast tracking their new soon-to-be hit trilogy franchise with Divergent stars, actress Shailene Woodley and actor Theo James tapped to reprise their roles in the May production of the upcoming sequel, Insurgent, while searching for a director. That search ended recently with reports this week stating that Red helmer Robert Schwentke is boarding the project which is set to begin principal photography for its March 20, 2015 release, with a script by Akiva Goldsman from a draft by Brian Duffield.
Based on Veronica Roth’s #1 New York Times best-selling novel, DIVERGENT is a gripping action thriller set in a futuristic world where society has been divided into five factions. As each person approaches adulthood, he or she must choose a faction and commit to it for the rest of their life. Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) chooses Dauntless—the daring risk-takers who pursue bravery above all else. During the Dauntless initiation, Tris completes death-defying stunts and faces her inmost fears in spectacular simulations. When she discovers she is a Divergent, someone who will never be able to fit into just one faction, she is warned that she must conceal this secret or risk her life. As Tris uncovers a looming war which threatens her family and the life of the mysterious Dauntless leader whom she has come to love, Tris must face her greatest test yet—deciding whether revealing she is a Divergent will save her world—or destroy it.