Fans weren’t the only ones surprised to learn about the fate of the final movie in the Divergent series.
Following news of a possible cancellation, Theo James , Shailene Woodley, and Ansel Elgort expressed their own shock about the franchise’s fate. Will they return for a TV version of the movie instead?
According to Movie News Guide , all three actors learned about Lionsgate’s plan to cancel the project from outside sources. For now, the studio has not confirmed that it is dropping the film.
In fact, the actors were shocked when asked about the future of the movie series and had no idea what the studio was planning. The last film in the Divergent series was supposed to open in theaters in June of 2017, though that release date is no longer certain.
Meanwhile, Zap2it is reporting that the studio has plans to transform the final film into a TV movie with a possible spin-off. The TV version would lead into the new series, which would be placed in the same world and timeline.
Lionsgate had a lot of success with the first two Divergent movies. However, the third installment, Allegiant , failed to generate the same amount of excitement with fans and didn’t sell nearly as many tickets at the box office.
If the studio follows through with the June release, Ascendant will compete against some heavy hitters, including World War Z 2 and the Mummy reboot.
Is this why Divergent might finish on television instead of the big screen?
For now, Movie News Guide is reporting that Lionsgate will move the franchise to TV, though the negotiations are still ongoing. Apparently, Lionsgate reps made the big announcement during Comic-Con in San Diego last weekend, much to the surprise of fans.
The biggest question remaining is whether or not the original actors will participate in the TV movie.
“They haven’t come to us to discuss deals,” a rep of one of the movie’s main stars explained. “[But] if they think they can skimp on actors’ options, they can think again.”
Part of the reason Lionsgate decided to move the movie is because of budget concerns. With the last movie failing to gross as expected, the final film in the franchise will face significant budget cuts to make it more profitable. The budget cuts could factor into Theo James, Shailene Woodley, and Ansel Elgort’s return.
The Divergent series is based on the novels by Veronica Roth. The story centers on a future society that places people in special categories based on their virtues. The movie follows Tris (Woodley), who is labeled a Divergent because she doesn’t fit into society’s labels.
Although there are only three books, Divergent followed modern trends and split its final movie into two parts.
Unfortunately, fans didn’t respond well to the last film and all but sealed the fate of the next one.
At this time, it isn’t known which of the actors will return to finish the series on television. Based on the budget cuts, and how clueless James, Woodley, and Elgort were about the series, things aren’t looking good.
If the actors don’t return, Movies is reporting that the studio will likely cast replacements for their parts or abandon the series all together. Until more information is released, fans can only hope that the main cast will return to give the franchise a proper send-off.
It isn’t known which network on television the movie will premier on, though it is possible that Amazon or Netflix will pick it up. Furthermore, details about the possible spin-off are also unknown and whether or not any of the original cast will agree to take a part in it.
Tell us! If you were Theo James, Shailene Woodley, or Ansel Elgort, would you return for the final installment even if it is a TV movie? Let us know in the comments below.
[Image via Summit Entertainment]