Attention, ‘Divergent’ Fans: ‘Allegiant’ Will Be Split Into Two Movies

In keeping with the tradition of making Young Adult franchises last longer than they otherwise might, Lionsgate has decided that Allegiant, the final book in the Divergent book trilogy from Veronica Roth, will be split into two movies. This makes the Divergent film franchise the latest to pull this tactic, after Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games.

Lionsgate confirmed that Allegiant — Part 1 will hit theaters on March 18, 2016, while Allegiant — Part 2 will release a year later, on March 24, 2017. Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairmen Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger explained the rationale behind the decision in a joint statement:

“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,” the statement read. “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.”

This announcement comes not long after the release of Divergent, part 1 in the film franchise, finally broke the Young Adult adaptation curse, in which seemingly every attempted big screen adaptation of a Young Adult novel either underperformed or bombed outright (looking at you, The Host, Beautiful Creates, I Am Number Four, and The Mortal Instruments!). The movie opened big last month, bringing in $56 million in its first weekend. To date, Divergent has raked in $117 million in North America.

The second film in the series, Insurgent, will hit theaters on March 20, 2015. So get hyped. You know, if this is your jam.

Via: Entertainment Weekly