‘Divergent: Allegiant’ Cast, Updates: Shailene Woodley Doubts Involvement in TV Movie, Says Co-Stars in “Limbo”

‘Divergent: Allegiant’ lead actress Shailene Woodley admitted that she was feeling unsure with starring in a television movie. She offered an update on the status of Lionsgate’s planned film and said that she and her co-stars are currently in “limbo”.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Woodley admitted her doubts for the planned final film in the ‘Divergent’ live-action adaptations based on Veronica Roth’s bestselling young adult series of books.

When asked about her continued involvement in the series, she replied, “Well, I mean, if it’s a movie… They haven’t finalized any decisions, so it’s actually a moot point to talk about it now, out of respect to Lionsgate and everyone involved. I’m not exactly sure where they stand, so we are kind of all in a limbo waiting game.”

Woodley clarified her less-than-enthusiastic statements during a previous interview to which she showed little enthusiasm for returning as lead protagonist Tris Prior for the fourth installment in the series. According to E! News, she said, "From what I know, they want to proceed with a television show, which is not something that I signed up to do… Out of respect to the whole scenario, there could be things that have changed, but I didn't sign up to do a TV show."

Failing ratings and viewership may have prompted Lionsgate to re-strategize and release ‘Divergent: Allegiant’ as a television movie. It was scheduled to premiere on June 9, 2017.

Woodley was first introduced as Tris in the 2014 film ‘Divergent’ directed by Neil Burger. The first installment received mixed reviews but was a financial success at the box office. The sequel entitled ‘The Divergent Series: Insurgent’ was released on 2015 to generally negative reviews but it continued to be a commercial success.

The third film, ‘The Divergent Series: Allegiant’, didn’t fare as well as its predecessors. In addition to earning generally negative reviews, it was deemed the lowest-grossing film in the series. According to The Numbers, ‘Allegiant’ earned $171.48 million worldwide against a production budget of $110 million.

‘Divergent: Ascendant’ is a planned television movie scheduled to premiere on June 9, 2017. It is directed by Lee Toland Krieger and stars Shailene Woodley, Naomi Watts, Miles Teller, Bill Skarsgard, Theo James, Ansel Elgort, Jeff Daniels, Zoe Kravitz, and Octavia Spencer among others. It is produced under Lionsgate, Summit Entertainment, and Red Wagon Entertainment.