When Does 'Allegiant' Come Out? — UPDATE

On Friday, the second movie in the Divergent series, Insurgent , is coming to theaters, and as I'm sure all fans of Veronica Roth's YA trilogy would agree, I'm very excited to see what the adaptation has in store. The first movie wasn't bad, but it lacked the unique, heart-pounding energy that made the book so good. The new film, however, has an all-new director, and it's not unheard of for the second movie in a trilogy to be the best of the bunch (hello, Catching Fire). Update: On Wednesday, July 20, it was announced that Allegiant — Part 2 will be a TV movie to be followed by a spinoff series, rather than coming out in theaters as we all expected. Allegedly, anyway. While nothing is finalized, Variety reported that "the studio wants to wrap up the film series on the small screen, according to an individual with knowledge of the situation. That would then segue into a standalone television series set in the same post-apocalyptic world."

Earlier: Even if Insurgent doesn't quite live up to expectations, however, there's no question that I — plus a few million other people — will be going to see it as soon as possible. As a fan of the books, I'll love every minute of the adaptation, regardless of quality, and I know that once I leave the theater, all I'll want is to find out what happens next. Unfortunately, there's still a whole year before the third movie in the franchise, Allegiant , gets released in March 2016, and one more year after that before the final film, Allegiant — Part 2. That's a lot time to wait to find out what happens to Tris, Four, and the other members of dystopian Chicago.

In the meantime, though, there are ways to pass the time; fans of the series can re-read the books (or read them for the first time, if you're one of those people), re-watch the first two movies, and check out the story collection Veronica Roth wrote as a prequel to Divergent , told in the point of view of Four. Sure, revisiting the author's world won't make the release of Allegiant come any sooner, but it will make the year we have to wait to see it a bit less painful, and a lot more fun.

For now, though, all the focus is on Insurgent. There's plenty about this movie's release to be excited about, from the new additions to the cast (Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, Suki Waterhouse) to the heart-pounding events of the plot to the greatness that is Shailene Woodley, normal-girl-action-hero. Allegiant parts one and two might still be a long ways away, but for now, Insurgent is more than enough to satisfy even the series' most die-hard fans.

Images: Summit/Lionsgate