In the 2010s, the Divergent book series were one of many books being adapted for the big screen. The film adaptation, as well as the ending of Veronica Roth’s final book in the series, Allegiant, were not well received by fans, and Roth looks back on the experience and how her point of view has changed over the years.
In an interview with People, Roth chose her words carefully about the film adaptation, which ended with the third book being split into two parts. The first movie, Allegiant (pictured above) didn’t fare well, so Lionsgate opted not to make the final installment.
“I mean, breaking things in two was all the rage at the time. That was why that decision was made,” Roth told People. “But at that point, I think I always felt peace about it just because I knew the movies were taking a different track than the books, and if you change the lead up, you change the ending. So I kind of felt like at that point … I feel like that third movie, I don’t know — there’s a lot we could talk about with it. But it’s its own thing.”
Roth was more forthcoming about the ending of the third book. I’m going to leave some space here in case you don’t want spoilers.
A little bit more space so you can shut your eyes if you don’t want to read!
…and here! In Allegiant, Roth kills off the protagonist, Kris. Fans were far from happy when they read that, and the online backlash against Roth was substantial.
“I listened to the series again on audiobook recently, and this was the first time I had re-experienced any of the books pretty much since Allegiant came out, because for a while it just reminded me of the internet, intense stress,” Roth said. “I’m obviously a lot older, and I think reading Allegiant again I understand better why there was such a strong reaction to this, just because of having that time and perspective. It’s interesting to reflect.”
She added: “I’ll be like, ‘What if that person had lived? What if a completely different plot point had happened or a different perspective?’ But I don’t think about it that often.”
Roth has written several books since the Divergent series, of course, including 2022’s Poster Girl.
If you want to read more of Roth’s reflections, check out her full interview at People.
