If you were taken aback to learn that you won’t get to see the fourth Divergent film in theaters, you’re not alone. Shailene Woodley, who stars as Tris in the sci-fi franchise, told reporters at San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday, July 21, that she was surprised when news broke on July 20 that Ascendant would debut on the small screen.
Ascendant, which has yet to be filmed, had previously been slated for a June 2017 theatrical release, but will instead premiere as a TV movie in an effort to launch an episodic series based on the property. This follows the poor commercial and critical response to the series’ third film, Allegiant, which was released in March. (The first film, Divergent, was a hit when it was released in March 2014.) Additionally, some fans had been disappointed that Lionsgate decided to divide the final book in the trilogy into two films.
Woodley, who was at Comic-Con to promote her upcoming drama Snowden, revealed she was actually traveling on July 20 when the news broke, so she it took her a while to find out.
“Honestly, I was on a plane when all that happened, and I landed, and I’m like, ‘Whoa, what’s going on?'” the Fault in Our Stars actress, 24, said in the press room.
The studio has not yet announced which cast members from the film series will appear in Ascendant, and Woodley did not reveal how she is leaning. (The previous films costarred Theo James, Miles Teller and Zoë Kravitz.)
“I need to talk and find out what the details are,” the Secret Life of the American Teenager alum said about whether she would return as Tris.
During the Snowden panel, Woodley and costars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zachary Quinto discussed the film’s real-life subject, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Gordon-Levitt, who plays the former CIA employee in the film, described the actual Snowden as “very polite,” not to mention “extremely optimistic” about where technology can lead the country.
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