As if anyone was surprised, Divergent's sequel Insurgent officially has the go-ahead. After nabbing the number one spot at the box office this weekend, the dystopian YA flick Divergent is on track for a $55 million opening weekend. “We're off to a great start with strong numbers from all regions of the country, urban, suburban and rural alike,” Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said in a statement. ”We're confident that Divergent is on its way to becoming another important franchise for us, and we have just greenlit the second film, Insurgent.” The 2nd installment is set to debut in March 2015.
But the studio first needed to replace the key member of their movie crew as Divergent's Neil Burger has become the latest director to step down in the middle of a film franchise. He cited "practical issues" as his reason for not returning. The studio asked him to go back and film additional scenes to give a deeper explanation of Tris' world but to Burger, that was a deal breaker.
“Once I was doing that, I was like, ‘I can’t be prepping one shoot on this film and then prepping a whole other movie at the same time,'" he said. "It’s too bad because I love those actors and I do feel a certain ownership of the movie.”
Not to compare Divergent to The Hunger Games or anything, but let's all remember director Francis Lawrence filmed both parts of Mockingjay at the same time so...
But if Burger wasn't up for it, it's probably best for him to get out because a film like Insurgent has such a large fan following that they deserve a director who is 100% dedicated. The new film's director is Robert Schwentke who's best known for directing the romantic sci-fi flick The Time Traveler's Wife. So with a new director and both Shailene Woodley and Theo James on board, fans can officially get excited for the sequel.
Image: Lionsgate
