Lionsgate To Divert THE DIVERGENT SERIES: ASCENDANT To The Small Screen

Signs that YA fandom for the big screen may have capitulated might depend on which examples you’re looking at. That said, if Summit/Lionsgate’s The Divergent Series is your litmus test, then it certainly serves as an interesting conversation starter.

The franchise, inspired by the work of acclaimed author Veronica Roth, stars Shailene Woodley and Theo James, focuses on brewing uprising against a totalitarian five-faction leadership with one woman at the center of it all amid her own journey of self-discover. The first two, Divergent (2014) and The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2015), respectively from helmers Neil Burger and Robert Schwentke pulled in a collective total of nearly $570 million dollars marking a steady pace of success for the franchise before box office results dimmed for this years low brow performance of Schwentke’s The Divergent Series: Allegiant.

As a result, what was expected to be director Lee Toland’s take for fourth and final theatrical installment, the retitled The Divergent Series: Ascendant for next year, stalled indefinitely, forcing the studio to rethink its plans. As such, Variety now has it on good word that a TV film and subsequent spin-off series will be the succession, with Lionsgate’s TV banner working it through with plans to possibly bring back the films’ cast in addition to new faces.

Negotiations are underway as things stand, but I wonder what this says about other YA properties now with Divergent currently (no pun intended) diverging from its theatrical course. Other studios have already lined-up plans for YA properties in some form or another, but is that confidence misplaced? Or do you feel that studios know what they’re doing? Moreover, what do you think of the new strategy being discussed here? And are you looking forward to the TV movie and series?

Be honest and share your thoughts in the comments below!