12 Years Ago Today, This Sci-Fi Franchise Based on Great Books Started (& Exactly 2 Years Later It Ended Unfinished)

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Today marks 12 years since the first Divergent movie was released, but the film series never completed the story from the original books due to poor performance at the box office. Following the huge success of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games trilogy, Hollywood searched for other young adult dystopian science fiction novels to turn into profitable films. Other attempts included The Maze Runner, The 5th Wave, Ender’s Game, The Giver, and The Host from 2013.

Although the quality of these films differed, 2014’s Divergent stood out as particularly successful. The movie, adapted from Veronica Roth’s 2011 novel, takes place in a future world where people are divided into five groups based on their personalities: Abnegation, Dauntless, Erudite, Amity, and Candor. Each group expects its members to strictly adhere to its values, which creates a problem for the main character, Beatrice “Tris” Prior, when she realizes she’s “Divergent” – meaning she doesn’t fit neatly into just one group, but displays traits from multiple factions.

Divergent Premiered On March 18, 2014

Released on March 18, 2014, the film Divergent proved popular with moviegoers, even though critics weren’t as enthusiastic. Shailene Woodley played the lead role of Tris, with Theo James as her love interest, Four. Supporting actors included Miles Teller, Zoë Kravitz, Ansel Elgort, and Maggie Q. Kate Winslet played the villain, Jeanine Matthews, and both she and Woodley received positive attention for their performances. However, reviewers thought the action scenes weren’t as strong as those in The Hunger Games films.

Although critics weren’t overly impressed, the first Divergent movie was a financial success, earning $288 million despite costing only $85 million to make. Because the original book series – Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant – contained three novels, fans expected the movie to continue and adapt the remaining books. And initially, that’s what happened. However, interest in young adult dystopian stories eventually faded, and the Divergent franchise was ultimately cancelled.

The second film in The Divergent Series, Insurgent, released in 2015, earned $297 million, surpassing the box office results of the first movie. However, it cost a significant $110 million to produce, which created challenges for the franchise. While critics generally considered Insurgent better than the original, the 2016 sequel, Allegiant, didn’t fare as well. Despite featuring well-known actors like Jeff Daniels, Naomi Watts, and Octavia Spencer, Allegiant cost over $110 million but only brought in $179 million at the box office.

The Divergent Franchise Was Never Officially Finished

The poor performance of the movie Allegiant, along with almost universally negative reviews, effectively ended the trend of adapting popular young adult dystopian novels for the big screen that had begun with the success of The Hunger Games. While Divergent and Allegiant were released a year apart, Allegiant‘s failure forced the creators to shift the planned final movie in the series from a theatrical release to a TV movie on Starz. Plans for a spin-off series were also considered, but ultimately the concluding chapter of the Divergent series was canceled after years of being stuck in development.

Which movie series that was left incomplete would you love to see continued? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

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2026-03-18 20:41