Quick Links
The 2010s were the heyday of teenagers who were interested in the end of the world as plenty of young adult dystopian novels were flying off the shelves, getting adapted into screenplays, and finding even more fans within movie theaters. Series likeThe Hunger Games,The Maze Runner, andDivergentwere wildly popular, but one of the big three did not exactly pan out like the other two.
WhileThe Hunger Gamesbooks have gone on to be adapted into films for more than 10 years — and there is a sixth book currently in the making that directors have already been eye-balling — theDivergentbook-to-film adaptations fell a bit flat. The first two films brought in a combined $586.2 million, but the third film, which featured only half of Victoria Roth’s third book, fell short with only $179.2 million against a $142 million budget. Some conversations were had about how to comfortably conclude the series witha successful fourth and final film, but eventually, the entire idea was shelved.
Now, 10 years after the very firstDivergentfilm came out,Netflixhas decided to bring the unfinished trilogy onto its streaming service where it is getting the spotlight once more. Fans are no longer wondering if or when a fourth film will be made, but rather, they are considering what would have happened in the canceledDivergentmovie.
Allegiant Left Us on a Cliffhanger
WatchingTris (Shailene Woodley)constantly fight the good fight against morally corrupt individuals was surely a whirlwind of a ride, and by the end ofThe Divergent Series: Allegiant, the fight is still not over. In the third film, Tris, Four (Theo James), Caleb (Ansel Elgort), and several others manage to learn about what the outside world is really like, and they are not impressed. They are told that Chicago has beena disturbing social experimentfor the last 200 years, and their faction system was designed to find the purest divergents who would essentially save all of humanity.
How Does the Third Divergent Movie End?
Heartbroken about the reality of the situation, Tris tries to get the director, David (Jeff Daniels), to see that the end of the faction system has actually caused more chaos back home. David listens to her pleas, but in the end, he does not care about anyone who is ultimately labeled as “Damaged.” Tris regroups with Four, her brother, and Christina (Zoë Kravitz), and they make their way back to Chicago to end the war between those who accepted their new factionless state and the Allegiant who want to reinstate rules and regulations.
They manage to stop David’s plan of wiping everyone’s memory, but they have yet to take him and the rest of the Bureau of Genetic Welfare down. The final scene ends with the camouflage wall being destroyed so that a fair fight can take place between those at the Bureau who have always called the shots and those in Chicago who are just now finding out that they have been a pawn in someone else’s game. Needless to say, audiences know that a storm is brewing, but without a fourth film, this highly anticipated fight never happens.
The Fourth Film’s Potential Plot
In theory, the fourthDivergentfilm, which was going to be calledThe Divergent Series: Ascendant, would have covered the remaining storyline of Veronica Roth’s third book. However, looking at the plot that was on the page and how things got shaken up and altered in the third film,there was not a lot of original material left to be adapted onto the screen. The war between Evelyn’s group and the newly developed Allegiant force had already erupted; Tris and Four discovered the real nature behind David and the Bureau, and David’s plan of erasing everyone’s memory was ultimately foiled.This only left one major plot point for the fourth film: Tris' death.
Divergent: What The Movie Adaptations Could Have Done Better
With star power and exciting stories, the Divergent series had potential to be a major movie franchise. Here’s what could have been done better.
Shailene Woodley’s Tris Prior was Supposed to Die
At the end of Roth’s third novel,Tris is actually shot and killed by David. Many fans who read the trilogy were less than pleased about this turn of events, but for the movie to stay close to its source material, this would have been an inevitable event. Of course,some screen time could have been dedicated to Four being upset and later on becoming a leader within Chicago(something that also happened in Roth’s book), but because there were not a lot of major points to still cover,much of the fourth film would have been made up by the writers to keep things going.
The Author Is Okay with the Canceled Film
It would seem like most authors would not want their work to be ripped apart when getting a movie adaptation, butRoth does not have a problemwith how things ended for theDivergentfilms.She told Peoplethat the decision to break her third book into two films is pretty much what solidified the difference in the works.
When asked specifically about her feelings towardsThe Divergent Series: Allegiant, she said, “I knew the movies were taking a different track than the books … 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.“Roth has since come to terms with a fourth film not getting made because she feels like Tris' story of being the mighty heroine (who is alive) is right for audiences.
10 Movies to Watch if You Liked Divergent
Between the dystopian aspect, characters with chemistry, and teenagers trying to save the world, here are 10 movies like Divergent you need to watch.
The Cancelation of the Fourth Film Is For the Best
Roth even went on to admit that the third film “feels complete” in a sense. Perhaps she is content that more screenwriters were not brought in to add a new angle to her work, or maybe she is happy that her work was able to have an alternate ending (Tris not dying) for those who desperately wanted to see something good come out of a bad situation. Whatever the reason, the message behind Roth’s books and films is still true and wholesome: people need to unapologetically be themselves and fight for what they believe is right.TheDivergentseries is streaming on Netflix.
