History Trivia / Divergent

** The film ended the trend of adapting young adult dystopian novels. Attempts to rectify this haven't had much success, with film adaptations of ''Film/TheDarkestMinds'', ''Film/ArtemisFowl'', and ''Film/ChaosWalking2021'' bombing and receiving poor reviews. While ''Film/MazeRunnerTheDeathCure'' (2018) fared much better, it was part of a pre-established franchise rather than an attempt at adapting new material, and even that series was experiencing diminishing returns.
** ''Allegiant'' also killed the trend in film adaptations of book series of [[DividedForAdaptation splitting the final book]] into [[TheFilmOfTheBook two movies]] started by ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' in 2010/2011, with ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga'' and ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' adaptations all following suit and ''Film/TheHobbit'' adaptation being extended to three films (based on one book). ''Divergent'' series went down the same path, intending to divide ''Allegiant'' into ''Allegiant'' (2016) and ''Ascendant'' (2017). However, after ''Allegiant'' performed poorly at the box office, which resulted in ''Ascendant'' never being made, ''Film/TheMazeRunnerSeries''' third film, ''[[Film/MazeRunnerTheDeathCure The Death Cure]]'' (2018) was not split. Even {{Movie Multipack}}s with original or semi-original stories were affected; ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar Part I'' dropped the ''Part I'' moniker and ''Part II'' was renamed to ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' after the release of the former ''Part I'', while ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'' was consolidated into a single movie.

* CreatorCameo: Veronica Roth, the author of the book series, has a cameo during the zipline scene in ''Divergent''; she's the first person to come through the door onto the roof. She was reportedly offered a more prominent appearance and a speaking line, but declined due to shyness.

* FanCommunityNicknames: The series has an interesting case in which the fans refer to themselves by whichever faction in the books they identify themselves with. (Dauntless, Erudite, Amity, Abnegation, Candor). However, sometimes "Factionless" is used as a general term for all of them, based off the name of one of the fansites. The common overall term is "Initiates".
* FandomLifeCycle: The books quickly made their way to Stage 3 after their publication between 2011 and 2013, helped by the success of ''The Hunger Games'', which popularised young adult dystopian fiction. Some dismissed ''Divergent'' as a ''Hunger Games'' rip-off but it had plenty of fans and the books were bestsellers, resulting in the books receiving movie adaptations that launched it to Stage 4 in 2014. However, declining interest in YA dystopia and the ill-fated decision to adapt ''Allegiant'' into two movies took a toll on the franchise's popularity; ''Allegiant'' underperformed at the box office in 2016 which resulted in the final film, ''Ascendant'', going into DevelopmentHell, leaving the movie series [[OrphanedSeries unfinished]]. The franchise as a whole ended up slipping into Stage 6b; while some people have fond memories of the books and/or films from their adolescence, it's often stated that ''Divergent'' doesn't hold up as well as similar works like ''The Hunger Games'' and so ended up forgotten by most people.
* FollowTheLeader: Follows the success of ''Literature/TheHungerGames'', being a YoungAdult {{Dystopia}} novel with a female lead and an emphasis on romance. Also holds to a similar structure: 16-year old ActionGirl protagonist, present-tense first-person narration, love interest (though a surprising lack of a love triangle), and angst. The novels also have covers featuring circular emblems reminiscent of the Mockingjay pin.

** Shailene Woodley telling her [[spoiler:dying mother]] to PleaseWakeUp. She's [[Film/TheDescendants done that before]].
** Jai Courtney has had experience with [[Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand training warriors before]].
** Naomi Watts had a troubled relationship with her son (who also called her by her first name rather than 'mom') in ''Film/TheRing''.

** Theo James opted not to bulk up too much, feeling a slender and athletic build was more suited for Four.
** In ''The Divergent Series: Allegiant'' Christina controls her drones with her right hand, when everyone else uses their left. This is due to Zoe Kravitz being left-handed.
* AwesomeDearBoy: How did Shailene Woodley convince her friend Miles Teller to take the role of Peter? By saying he'd get to punch her in the face.

* DisownedAdaptation: Downplayed. [[https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/features/my-husbands-job-is-to-read-my-work-and-tell-me-its-wonderful-he-is-a-sort-of-cheerleader/35382178.html In a 2017 interview]], Veronica Roth, the author of the book series, stated that while she loved the first film and in general valued much of the process of her books being adapted to film, she also felt that the films strayed from her intended story as they went on.

* CreatorCameo: Veronica Roth, the author of the book series, has a cameo during the zipline scene in ''Divergent''. She's the first person to come through the door onto the roof.

** Pretty much every teen in the series is played by an actor well into their 20's. The only one who's closest to their characters' age is 16-year-old Caleb, who's portrayed by then-19-year-old Ansel Elgort.

** Zoe Kravitz admitted on Creator/DaxShepard's podcast in 2020 that she doesn't consider the series as her finest work.

----> '''Christina:''' "This isn't us against us. This is us against people on the other side of that wall."

** ''Allegiant'' also killed the trend of [[DividedForAdaptation splitting the final book]] into [[TheFilmOfTheBook two movies]] started by ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' in 2010/2011, with ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga'' and ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' adaptations all following suit and ''Film/TheHobbit'' adaptation being extended to three films (based on one book). ''Divergent'' series went down the same path, intending to divide ''Allegiant'' into ''Allegiant'' (2016) and ''Ascendant'' (2017). Unfortunately, ''Allegiant'' performed poorly at the box office, which resulted in ''Ascendant'' never being made, and ''Film/TheMazeRunnerSeries''' third film, ''[[Film/MazeRunnerTheDeathCure The Death Cure]]'' (2018) not being split. Even {{Movie Multipack}}s with original or semi-original stories were affected; ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar Part I'' dropped the ''Part I'' moniker and ''Part II'' was renamed to ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' after the release of the former ''Part I'', while ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'' was consolidated into a single movie.

** ''Allegiant'' also killed the trend of [[DividedForAdaptation splitting the final book]] into [[TheFilmOfTheBook two movies]] started by ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' in 2010/2011, with the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' and ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' adaptations all following suit and ''Film/TheHobbit'' adaptation being extended to three films (based on one book). ''Divergent'' series went down the same path, intending to divide ''Allegiant'' into ''Allegiant'' (2016) and ''Ascendant'' (2017). Unfortunately, ''Allegiant'' performed poorly at the box office, which resulted in ''Ascendant'' never being made, and ''Film/TheMazeRunnerSeries''' third film, ''[[Film/MazeRunnerTheDeathCure The Death Cure]]'' (2018) not being split. Even {{Movie Multipack}}s with original or semi-original stories were affected; ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar Part I'' dropped the ''Part I'' moniker and ''Part II'' was renamed to ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' after audiences had been given enough time to watch the former ''Part I'', while ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'' was consolidated into a single movie.

* FollowTheLeader: The film is one of the many film adaptations of YoungAdult books with dystopian settings, spawned from the success of ''Film/TheHungerGames''. The film's rights were first purchased after the success of ''{{Literature/Twilight}}'', where a dozen other YoungAdult books were put up for adaptation.

* CaliforniaDoubling: Averted in ''Divergent'' - as it was shot almost entirely on location in Chicago. ''The Divergent Series: Insurgent'' and ''The Divergent Series: Allegiant'' were shot in Atlanta for the scenes outside Chicago.
* CastTheExpert: Theo James is a trained boxer, so already had some experience with combat sports.

** Miles Teller said he only took the role for "business reasons" and that it made him feel "dead inside". He had to do a rather large VerbalBackspace when the sequels were greenlit.
** Shailene Woodley has hinted that she didn't like the direction ''The Divergent Series: Insurgent'' went in, due to the film differing so much from Neil Burger's original vision. She also expressed her distaste for the notion of turning the last film into a MadeForTVMovie, feeling the franchise deserved "its rightful end".

* TheWikiRule: [[http://divergent.wikia.com/wiki/Divergent_Wiki Divergent Wiki]].

** ''Allegiant'' also killed the trend of [[DividedForAdaptation splitting the final book]] into [[TheFilmOfTheBook two movies]] started by ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' in 2010/2011, with the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' and ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' adaptations all following suit and ''Film/TheHobbit'' adaptation being extended to three films (based on one book). ''Divergent'' series went down the same path, intending to divide ''Allegiant'' into ''Allegiant'' (2016) and ''Ascendant'' (2017). Unfortunately, ''Allegiant'' performed poorly at the box office, which resulted in ''Ascendant'' never being made, and ''Film/TheMazeRunnerSeries''' third film, ''[[Film/MazeRunnerTheDeathCure The Death Cure]]'' (2018) not being split. Even superhero movies, which are not book adaptations but rather semi-original stories, were affected; ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar Part I'' dropped the ''Part I'' moniker and ''Part II'' was renamed to ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' after audiences had been given enough time to watch the former ''Part I'', while ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'' was consolidated into a single movie.

** ''Allegiant'' also killed the trend of [[DividedForAdaptation splitting the final book]] into [[TheFilmOfTheBook two movies]] started by ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' in 2010/2011, with the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' and ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' adaptations all following suit and ''Film/TheHobbit'' adaptation being extended to three films (based on one book). ''Divergent'' series went down the same path, intending to divide ''Allegiant'' into ''Allegiant'' (2016) and ''Ascendant'' (2017). Unfortunately, ''Allegiant'' performed poorly at the box office, which resulted in ''Ascendant'' never being made, and ''Film/TheMazeRunnerSeries''' third film, ''[[Film/MazeRunnerTheDeathCure The Death Cure]]'' (2018) not being split. Even superhero movies, which are not book adaptations but rather semi-original stories, were affected; ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar Part I'' dropped the ''Part I'' moniker and ''Part II'' was renamed to ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', while ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'' was consolidated into a single movie.

** ''Allegiant'' also killed the trend of [[DividedForAdaptation splitting the final book]] into [[TheFilmOfTheBook two movies]] started by ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' in 2010/2011, with the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' and ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' adaptations all following suit and ''Film/TheHobbit'' adaptation being extended to three films (based on one book). ''Divergent'' series went down the same path, intending to divide ''Allegiant'' into ''Allegiant'' (2016) and ''Ascendant'' (2017). Unfortunately, ''Allegiant'' performed poorly at the box office, which resulted in ''Ascendant'' never being made, and ''Film/TheMazeRunnerSeries''' third film, ''[[Film/MazeRunnerTheDeathCure The Death Cure]]'' (2018) not being split. Even ''The Avengers'' renamed ''Infinity War Part 2'' to ''Endgame'', while ''Justice League Part 2'' was put on the back burner before the first movie even came out.

** Shailene Woodley has hinted that she didn't like the direction ''The Divergent Series: Insurgent'' went in, due to the film differing so much from Neil Burger's original vision. Shailene also expressed her distaste for the notion of turning the last film into a MadeForTVMovie, feeling the franchise deserves "its rightful end".
* CreatorCameo: Author of the book series Veronica Roth has a cameo during the zipline scene in ''Divergent''. She's the first person to come through the door onto the roof.

** ''Allegiant'' also killed the trend of [[DividedForAdaptation splitting the final book]] into [[TheFilmOfTheBook two movies]] started by ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' in 2010/2011, with the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' and ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' adaptations all following suit and ''Film/TheHobbit'' adaptation being extended to three films (based on one book). ''Divergent'' series went down the same path, intending to divide ''Allegiant'' into ''Allegiant'' (2016) and ''Ascendant'' (2017). Unfortunately, ''Allegiant'' performed poorly at the box office, which resulted in ''Ascendant'' never being made, and ''[[Film/TheMazeRunner The Maze Runner]]'''s third film, ''[[Film/MazeRunnerTheDeathCure The Death Cure]]'' (2018) not being split. Even ''The Avengers'' renamed ''Infinity War Part 2'' to ''Endgame'', while ''Justice League Part 2'' was put on the back burner before the first movie even came out.

* PlayingGertrude:
** Due to Theo James being [[DawsonCasting significantly older than his character]] Four, this is the result with Four’s mother Evelyn. Naomi Watts who plays Evelyn is sixteen years older than James. Evelyn does at least say she was young when she left Marcus.
** Ansel Elgort plays the older Prior sibling despite being four years younger than Shailene Woodley who plays his sister.

* TrendKiller:
** The trend of adapting young adult dystopian novels ended when ''Allegiant'' performed so poorly at the box office that the following movie, ''Ascendant'', was retooled as a TV movie before being cancelled entirely. Attempts to rectify this haven't had much success, with film adaptations of ''Film/TheDarkestMinds'', ''Film/ArtemisFowl'', and ''Film/ChaosWalking2021'' bombing and receiving poor reviews. While ''Film/MazeRunnerTheDeathCure'' (2018) fared much better, it was part of a pre-established franchise rather than an attempt at adapting new material, and even that series was experiencing diminishing returns.

* GenreKiller: [[https://cheezburger.com/14362629/tumblr-breaks-down-young-adult-dystopian-fiction A few people]] have said that ''Divergent'' boiled down the dystopian YA genre to its most superficial and marketable aspects, to the point that it's now impossible to take any other entry into the genre seriously anymore. Adding credence to this is that interest in YA dystopia ground to a halt round about when the third ''Divergent'' movie was released; most subsequent attempts to adapt teen-oriented dystopian novels tended to end in failure (the film versions of ''Film/MazeRunnerTheDeathCure'' and ''Film/ReadyPlayerOne2018'' are notable exceptions, but despite doing okay critically and commercially, they couldn't revitalize interest in the genre in the long term).