Divergent writer explains why she's not upset over the last movie in the franchise never being made

The Divergent Series: Allegiant
(Image credit: Lionsgate)

Divergent fans may still be salty that the franchise was never fully wrapped on on the big screen, but author Veronica Roth is more than okay with it. In fact, in her opinion, the adapted series "feels complete". 

As part of a new interview with People, the writer was asked about why Lionsgate chose to split Allegiant, the fourth installment of her dystopian YA saga, into two movies – and while the first was released in 2016, the second part, originally dubbed Ascendant, never came to fruition. 

"I mean, breaking things in two was all the rage at the time. That was why that decision was made," Roth explained candidly, referring to the likes of Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and Twilight. "But at that point, I think I always felt peace about it just because I knew the movies were taking a different track than the books, and if you change the lead up, you change the ending. So I kind of felt like at that point… I feel like that third movie, I don't know – there's a lot we could talk about with it. But it's its own thing."

"It feels complete to me, relatively speaking," she continued. "Because what does that even mean at that point?"

Starring Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Zoë Kravitz, Theo James, and Shailene Woodley, the Divergent series is set in a future where people are divided up into factions based on human virtues: Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), and Erudite (the intelligent). After being told she won't fit into any group, a young woman named Tris takes it upon herself to lead a rebellion against those in charge, all while trying to evade a mysterious group trying to off the titular Divergents.

Upon its release, Allegiant was met with mostly negative reviews, pulling in around $179.2 million at the global box-office, a disappointing turnover considering it cost the studio between $110 million and $142 million to make.

For more, check out our list of the best sci-fi movies of all time.

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Amy West

I am an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.