Before the romance fantasy genre blew up, the young adult dystopian was all the rage, with publishers and movie producers pumping out content for young people to enjoy. While many would recognize The Hunger Games and its many films and prequels, there’s another YA dystopia that entered the genre to some decent success. Divergent, a YA dystopia starring Shailene Woodley and Theo James, will be available to stream for free next month. It features a post-apocalyptic society divided into factions, as one woman tries to defy the status quo.
Divergent will debut Tubi on June 1st, and unfortunately, its follow-up films will not join the streaming platform (at least not yet), but you can find them on Paramount+. This YA feature generated $288 million at the global box office but received a mixed reaction from fans and critics alike. According to Rotten Tomatoes, it earned a low 41% average critics score and a 69% average audience score. Regardless, it was nominated for numerous awards and won “Favorite Action Movie” at the People’s Choice Awards, “Choice Movie: Action” at the Teen Choice Awards, and “Favorite Character” at the MTV Movie Awards, to name a few.
Divergent is based on a book of the same name by Veronica Roth, where it follows Tris (Woodley), a young girl who learns that she’s Divergent after an aptitude test and is told to keep her results hidden. The test was meant to help her find out where she fits in society, as it’s divided into five factions, but her being a Divergent means that she belongs to more than one, thus making her a threat. This feature also stars some notable names, like Kate Winslet (Titanic), Ansel Elgort (West Side Story), Ray Stevenson (Ahsoka), and Zoë Kravitz (The Batman).
What Happened to the Last ‘Divergent’ Movie, ‘Ascendant’?
The Divergent saga came in three books, and just like The Hunger Games: Mockingjay and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, its final book would be split into two parts. The third book, Allegiant, released the first half of its film adaptation in 2016. Unfortunately, it underperformed at the box office, generating $179 million worldwide, and was poorly received by fans and critics alike on Rotten Tomatoes.
Due to Allegiant‘s poor performance, part 2 of its adaptation, titled Ascendant, was eventually cancelled. Before the project was pulled, it was reported that the movie would become a TV series for Starz rather than its original plan to enter theaters. In an interview with ScreenRant, Woodley revealed that she isn’t interested in reprising the role for the TV series, nor did she sign up for it. This, plus other factors like Robert Schwentke stepping out as director, eventually cancelled Ascendant, thus making this YA dystopian saga remain unfinished.
Divergent will arrive on Tubi on June 1, 2025.
via Collider