Ascendant, the Final Divergent Chapter, Is Now Going to Be a Starz TV Series

On July 20, Variety reported that Lionsgate had changed its plans for the final movie. Instead of giving it a theatrical release, it would be a TV movie, and there would be a spinoff series.

Then, in August, it was announced that an Ascendant TV series would be coming to Starz. No word on whether a TV movie is part of the series, so stay tuned.

It didn't seem like Shailene Woodley was too keen on the idea of a TV movie. Speaking with Yahoo Movies at Comic-Con in 2016 after the news broke, Woodley came right out and said that no one told her about the switch to TV before the press broke the news. "I honestly don't . . . that article, I got off the plane and read that and called my rep and was like, 'What is this?' and they were like, 'We're figuring that out,'" she said. "We don't have any information. I think that came as a surprise to everybody."

In September 2016, Woodley all but confirmed she's out, telling ScreenRant, "Last I heard they were trying to make it into a television show. I didn't sign up to be in a television show. Out of respect to the studio and everyone involved, they may have changed their mind and may be doing something different, but I'm not necessarily interested in doing a television show."

In February, Woodley confirmed to Vanity Fair once and for all that she is not doing the show.

Theo James, who would have had a larger part in the final chapter of the series, is done as well, telling MTV UK: "I think it's a shame that we can't finish the story, but I think it's evolving in a place where the actors that have been in the three movies probably won't be in whatever it evolves to in the future. My message would be, 'thanks for the support.'"

Teller spoke to The Hollywood Reporter at the August 2016 premiere of War Dogs, confirming that the whole cast was surprised by the switch to TV. He also said that he's not sure about returning to the franchise: "At this point, it's a different set of circumstances. We'll see. I honestly haven't talked to anybody."

Meanwhile, Elgort's July 22, 2016, interview with HuffPost was particularly eyebrow-raising: "It’s obviously sad because the cast all really liked each other, but hopefully we can all work together on a different project," he said. "I love Shailene and I love Theo and everyone else in the cast. I’ll miss . . . we didn’t say our goodbyes because we were expecting to do another one together." That doesn't sound good at all.

Ascendant was originally scheduled to hit theaters in June 2017, but it's now up in the air as to when we'll see the TV series.