'Ascendant' TV Series Based on the 'Divergent' Franchise Coming to Starz

Gina Ippolito

According to Deadline, Starz is developing a TV series titled Ascendant, based on the Divergent film franchise. The show was originally intended as a feature film, which would have been the fourth in the series, based on the books by Veronica Roth.

The first two films, 2014’s Divergent and 2015’s Insurgent, did well at the box office, but the third, 2016’s Allegiant, performed poorly. In July 2016, news broke that Lionsgate was considering moving the franchise to the small screen. Yahoo Movies was there when Shailene Woodley, who plays Beatrice “Tris” Prior, heard the news, and she did not seem pleased. Later, Woodley spoke with Screen Rant and said, “I didn’t sign up to be in a television show. Out of respect to the studio and everyone in involved, they may have changed their mind and may be doing something different, but I’m not necessarily interested in doing a television show.”

Woodley appeared on the first season of HBO’s Big Little Lies, so it’s possible she may have changed her mind since that interview. Woodley aside, it’s unclear whether the rest of the film cast would be on board, either, so we may be seeing all new faces. If the films’ stars aren’t available, there are plenty of other characters and storylines that the show could mine from the books, which are set in a dystopian future where individuals are sorted into factions based on their skills. In the book series, Tris’s mom, Natalie, has a compelling backstory about the faction she ended up joining. The show might opt to do a prequel of the film series focusing on Natalie, or the beginning of the sorting technique after the fall of modern society. There are also several other cities mentioned in the books that are undergoing their own issues and problems, and mentions of these were left out of the films.

Shailene Woodley discusses her regrettable post-protest mug shot on The Late Show

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