To the casual observer, looking at the sinking box-office returns for each entry in the “Divergent” series, and the recently announced plans to transition the finale,”Ascendant,” to TV which would then lead to a spinoff series, it would seem that the YA property isn’t exactly the most popular thing going. But Lionsgate, who certainly don’t want to look like they completely wasted what initially looked like a surprise homerun hit, are insisting there are still plenty of people invested in “Divergent.”
“There’s a tremendous fandom,” the studio’s TV Group Chair Kevin Beggs told Variety, going on to explain that the TV series would resolve “the [final] novel in a season across 10 to 13 episodes and then expanding from there into multiple seasons.”
Apparently, there are numerous buyers already looking at the potential show, but I’ll believe it when I see it — particularly when this is all news the cast members.
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“I’ve talked to nobody. I found out 20 minutes before Variety printed it,” Miles Teller told the trade, and he didn’t seem too keen on going along with “Divergent” to TV.
“When we all signed on for the first one we had every intention of finishing it theatrically,” he said. “We signed on for x amount of movies and you take that all into consideration. We wanted to see that storyline finish. You know, it’s moving into a different format. So who knows?”
As for leading star Shailene Woodley, she was also surprised by the news, and hesitant to commit. “The factors would be, I need to know the details, in which case I know no details,” she told Yahoo at San Diego Comic Con.
If the series stars can’t get excited about a potential TV show, I don’t see how the remaining fans will, but maybe Lionsgate knows something I don’t.