When “Divergent” opened in 2014, it took everyone by surprise, with the YA movie earning $288 million worldwide, and looking like a new franchise. But it’s hard to remember a studio fumbling the ball as hard as Lionsgate did. Each successive entry has been a creative and financial disappointment, with this spring’s “The Divergent Series: Allegiant” hitting the lowest bar yet, with an anemic $179.2 million worldwide, putting it $100 million off the pace of the other two movies in the series. Even Lionsgate admitted they rushed to meet a date with ‘Allegiant,’ and now those bad decisions are biting them in the ass.
With the franchise finale “The Divergent Series: Ascendant” originally scheduled to come out on June 9, 2017 those plans are now changing dramatically. The studio is now looking to develop the project as a TV movie instead, one they hope will launch a spinoff series. Uh, good luck with that, guys.
Having already clearly alienated a large number of the core fans who made the first film a success, and failing to broaden the appeal to newcomers, it’s hard to imagine anyone who would want to watch ‘Ascendant’ in cinemas or at home, let alone dive into a full blown TV series. Even more, none of the original cast members are signed up to return for ‘Ascendant,’ and it’s probably a safe bet that Shailene Woodley, Miles Teller, Naomi Watts, and others won’t want to return for something that has been demoted from a summer movie to a TV effort.
It’s understandable why Lionsgate is trying desperately to keep the franchise alive, but this really feels like grasping at straws. The best bet might just be to put it to rest and move on, or make the final movie on a reduced budget, take it out of the prime summer slot, and release it in September or January.
It’s all early talk right now and Lionsgate hasn’t presented the idea to any TV networks, but I can’t imagine that network executives will look at this as anything other than damaged goods. And with so many TV projects to choose from these days, it’ll be a hard sell. [Variety]