Divergent Author Comments on Missing Final Movie

When Allegiant, the third and final book in Veronica Roth’s Divergent series was adapted for film it was, as was the case with many popular books turned to films at the time, meant to be divided into to two films — Allegiant and Ascendant. But while Allegiant opened in theaters in 2016, Ascendant never made it to screen and now Roth says she’s made peace with how things turned out. Speaking with People, Roth says she’s okay with how the film franchise turned out because the movies were taking a different track than the books.

“I mean, breaking things in two was all the rage at the time That was why that decision was made,” Roth says. “But at that point, I think I always felt peace about it just because I knew the movies were taking a different track than the books, and if you change the lead up, you change the ending. So, I kind of felt like at that point … 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.”

“It feels complete to me, relatively speaking, because what does that even mean at that point,” Roth added.

Why Was The Fourth Divergent Movie Cancelled?

While the Divergent film franchise was set to be wrapped up with two final films, Allegiant and Ascendant, only Allegiant ended up making it to screen. Ascendant, which would have wrapped up the series, was originally set to be released on March 24, 2017, before being pushed back to June 9, 2017, and then scrapped altogether due to Allegiant‘s poor box office performance. The film also performed poorly with critics. Plans were made by Lionsgate to release Ascendant as a television film to serves as a lead-in for a spinoff series that would ultimately move beyond Roth’s book, but those plans also ultimately were scrapped.

What Was Allegiant About?

Starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Jeff Daniels, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Zoe Kravitz, Maggie Q, Ray Stevenson, Bill Skarsgard, Octavia Spencer and Naomi Watts, Allegiant followed Tris Prior (Woodley), her boyfriend Four (James), and their group of friends escaping over the wall that enclosed the city in a post-apocalyptic and dystopian Chicago. Once outside, the group discovered new truths about things that shifted their alliances and introduced new threats.

Hunger Games Director Says He Regrets Splitting Mockingjay Into 2 Parts

Earlier this year, director Francis Lawrence revealed that he regrets splitting the final Hunger Games book into two films. Lawrence returns to direct the Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes which opens in theaters next month.

“I totally regret it. I totally do,” he said. “I’m not sure everybody does, but I definitely do.”

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes opens in theaters November 17th.