Summit announced this morning that the Divergent finale Allegiant will be split into two films hitting theaters March 2016 and March 2017.
The announcement was made via the film’s official Twitter and Facebook accounts. Allegiant, Part 1 will be released March 18, 2016 and Allegiant, Part 2 will be released March 24, 2017.
The news isn’t too surprising for a couple reasons. For one, this is a common trend in the book-to-film adaptation world when a series is successful (more on that in a moment). Two, we learned last month that Woodley is locked in for “three sequels.” This means that Summit had the option of turning the franchise into four movies if they wanted to without having to worry about cast commitments.
“Veronica Roth brings her captivating story to a masterful conclusion in Allegiant, a rich, action-packed book with material that is ideally suited to two strong and fulfilling movies,” said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairmen Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger in a statement this morning. “The storytelling arc and world of the characters lend themselves perfectly to two films, a storytelling strategy that has worked very well for us on the two Twilight Breaking Dawn films and about which we’re tremendously enthusiastic for the two upcoming Mockingjay films of The Hunger Games franchise.”
The news comes on the heels of the first film’s release in theaters three weeks ago. Divergent directed by Neil Burger has made $116 million in the United States and $22 million overseas. The international number is expected to get a good bump as the film opens in more countries.
Allegiant’s split into two films follows in an increasingly-longer line of book to film adaptations who have done the same move. Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games have all had their finales sliced into two parts in recent years.
Meanwhile, the Divergent sequel Insurgent is set to hit theaters in March 2015 with production beginning next month in Atlanta.
We want to hear your thoughts on this topic!
Write a comment below or submit an article to Hypable.