'Divergent: Allegiant' is said to keep author Veronica Roth's controversial book ending. This decision lead to a divided fan base with some petitions online to try and manipulate the plot into a more optimistic one. Leads Shailene Woodley and Theo James revealed their feelings towards the decision, while fellow actor Ansel Elgort went shirtless after allegedly wrapping up the final shoot.
Woodley, who portrays main protagonist Beatrice 'Tris' Prior, admitted in an interview with Digital Spy that she was all for Allegiant's concluding scene. She said, "I think that it is a beautiful decision that Veronica made... I mean, how often is it that somebody you really admire and who does take selfless risks every day ends up living?"
The 23-year old actress agreed with Roth's ending and even co-actor James, who plays her love interest and comrade Tobias 'Four' Eaton, called it 'natural' and philosophical as well. He revealed on an interview with BuzzFeed, "I thought it was a natural - I thought it totally made sense. Her whole philosophy in life is selflessness and giving. She's almost like a semi-Christ figure in that way."
In Roth's third novel, Tris is killed off during a suicide mission to protect her brother Caleb and sacrifice herself to her group's cause. This led fans to petition for an alternative movie ending over at Change.org addressed to Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment's executives in hopes of saving Woodley's heroine from her tragic fate on the big screen.
According to Movie News Guide, Roth never wavered from her decision and was said to have calculated the heart-rending ending since the beginning. She did, however, consider and an alternative ending but the core of her story would not be fulfilled. She explained, "The other options weren't doing the real justice to her story. The idea of her settling down after saving the world was not good enough, and it didn't feel good."
In another article by Entertainment Weekly, Elgort who plays Caleb Prior in the film and Woodley's love interest in 'A Fault in Our Stars reportedly celebrated the end of shooting for the third installment by posting a shirtless photograph of himself on his social media account.
His recent Instagram post featured him half nude beside co-star James with the punny caption "IT'S A META'FOUR. Allegiant we are WRAPPED! I know we'd all rather see theo shirtless I'm sorry." Elgort posted quite a number of behind-the-scenes photos in the past few days as the cast and crew allegedly wrapped up filming in time for a scheduled March 18, 2016 release for the first half of the two-part finale.
'Divergent: Allegiant' is the final chapter of the action-adventure and science-fiction film series. It is based off Roth's third book and centers on a dystopian world and how Tris and her group aim to save a conflict-ridden city and its people. It will be split into two parts with the first is scheduled to premiere on March 18, 2016 and the second half to be released on March 24, 2017.
Join the Conversation