Divergent Series in Order: Books, Movies and Cast
Three novels, a book of stories, three films and one that never happened
Books and films in order
| Order | Title | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Divergent | Novel | 2011 |
| 2 | Insurgent | Novel | 2012 |
| 3 | Allegiant | Novel | 2013 |
| 4 | Four: A Divergent Collection | Stories, set before and during book 1 | 2014 |
| 5 | We Can Be Mended | Short epilogue story | 2017 |
| Film 1 | Divergent | Movie, dir. Neil Burger | 2014 |
| Film 2 | The Divergent Series: Insurgent | Movie, dir. Robert Schwentke | 2015 |
| Film 3 | The Divergent Series: Allegiant | Movie, dir. Robert Schwentke | 2016 |
| Film 4 | The Divergent Series: Ascendant | Cancelled | never released |
When should you read Four?
Four collects four stories narrated by Tobias, covering his choice to leave his family, his own initiation and his first weeks as a trainer, plus a few scenes from Divergent seen through his eyes. It can be read first, but most readers enjoy it more after the trilogy, when they already know why his past matters. We Can Be Mended is a short coda set five years after Allegiant, best kept for the very end.
↑ Back to the topThe three films
Divergent arrived on 21 March 2014 and earned about 289 million dollars worldwide. Insurgent followed on 20 March 2015 and did slightly better, around 297 million, partly because it was released in 3D. Allegiant, released on 18 March 2016, covered only the first half of the final novel and earned about 179 million, the weakest result of the series.
The first film was shot mostly in Chicago, where the story is set. Insurgent and Allegiant were filmed largely in the Atlanta area.
↑ Back to the topThe main cast
Shailene Woodley plays Beatrice Prior, known as Tris, and Theo James plays Tobias Eaton, known as Four. Kate Winslet plays the Erudite leader Jeanine Matthews in the first two films. Ansel Elgort plays Tris's brother Caleb, Miles Teller plays her rival Peter, Zoë Kravitz plays her friend Christina, and Ashley Judd and Tony Goldwyn play her parents.
Maggie Q is Tori, Jai Courtney is the Dauntless leader Eric, and Ray Stevenson is Marcus Eaton. Naomi Watts joins in Insurgent as Evelyn, and Jeff Daniels arrives in Allegiant as David, head of the world beyond the wall.
↑ Back to the topWhy was the fourth movie cancelled?
Like other young adult series of its time, the studio split the final book into two films. After Allegiant performed poorly in 2016, Lionsgate decided to finish the story as a television film and then as a possible series instead of a cinema release. The leading actors had signed on for films, not television, and showed little interest in the change. Plans faded, and by 2018 Ascendant was effectively dead.
So the films end on a cliffhanger, and anyone who wants the real ending, including its famous final twist, has to read Allegiant.
↑ Back to the topRead the books in this order: Divergent (2011), Insurgent (2012), Allegiant (2013), then Four: A Divergent Collection (2014), stories told by Tobias.
The films are Divergent (2014), Insurgent (2015) and Allegiant (2016). A fourth film, Ascendant, was cancelled, so the screen story stops halfway through the last book.
More about Divergent
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