Line #59 Main/DividedForAdaptation


1	%%Image selected via crowner in the Image Suggestion thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php?crowner_id=3t05139r
2	%%https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1452266899092104700
3	%%
4	%%Please don't change or remove without starting a new thread.
5	[[quoteright:350:[[Literature/{{Mockingjay}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_1mockingjay.png]]]]
6
7	So you're watching TheFilmOfTheBook, content in the fact that the movie has been adapting the source material pretty well so far... but then the film ends on a CliffHanger. Wait a minute, what gives? Was there another book in the series that the writers plan to adapt, so they tossed in a SequelHook for that one? Well, no. You double-check the source material and the book continues beyond that point. What happened?
8
9	Well, TheFilmOfTheBook was split in half.
10
11	Divided for Adaptation, as the name suggests, is when the source material is a single work, but its adaptation is split into multiple pieces. This can happen if the original work was something of a {{Doorstopper}}, but it can also be the result of a film series wanting to go out on a big note for its GrandFinale: ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' is a good example of this, as the final book was no longer than the others, but was split into two when adapted to film. ExecutiveMeddling can be a major reason this happens, because if the book-to-film series is popular, this is a good excuse to extend the life of the franchise and wring more money out of it. If the source material isn't quite long enough to fill up all that time (whereas 2½ hours wasn't enough, 5 hours is now ''too'' much), chances of AdaptationExpansion and/or {{Filler}} can also occur.
12
13	For the sake of not overloading this page with examples, this trope excludes television series and MiniSeries, since those are multi-part by their very nature. However, situations where the show's pacing is drastically changed partway through (e.g., the adaptation of a manga that has always adapted two issues an episode suddenly goes down to one per episode), may be included.
14
15	Also see GeckoEnding where an adaptation ends just short of the source material ending and the adaptation has to WrapItUp.
16
17	SubTrope of DividedForPublication and MovieMultipack.
18
19	Contrast the opposite CompressedAdaptation and AdaptationAmalgamation.
20
21	----
22
23	!Examples
24
25	[[foldercontrol]]
26
27	[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
28	* The WesternAnimation/DCUniverseAnimatedOriginalMovies line has done this a few times for its adaptations
29	** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'' was split into two parts, with Part 1 released in 2012, and Part 2 released in 2013 and the plot reworked to have [[spoiler:the Joker coming out of his catatonic state to serve as a cliffhanger instead of it happening the day after Batman's return]].
30	** The TruerToTheText redo of ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman'', featuring the [[WesternAnimation/TheDeathOfSuperman the eponymous film]] and ''WesternAnimation/ReignOfTheSupermen'', the former coming out in 2018 and the latter in 2019.
31	** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheLongHalloween'' was also made into two parts, but unlike the other two, both came out the same year, 2021, and only a month apart. Like ''The Dark Knight Returns'', it also changes the placement of events so something can serve as a cliffhanger, in this case, [[spoiler:moving up Carmine Falcone siccing Poison Ivy on Bruce to right after New Year's Eve in TheStinger.]]
32	[[/folder]]
33
34	[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]
35	* ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'', a famous {{doorstopper}}, was split into [[Film/AtlasShrugged three movies]] (released in 2011, 2012, and 2014).
36	* ''Literature/{{Divergent}}: Allegiant'' was intended to be split into two movies. Due to [[BoxOfficeBomb the underwhelming performance]] of the first part released in 2016, the second part, ''Ascendant'' was scrapped as a theatrical film. There were plans to either release it as a MadeForTVMovie, or turn it into a television show to conclude the series, but both of these ideas were ultimately scrapped as well.
37	* ''Film/Dune2021''—or rather ''Dune: Part One''—covers only half of [[Literature/{{Dune}} the book]] with ''Film/DunePartTwo'' covering the other half. It aims at solving the problem of the [[Film/Dune1984 1984 version]] [[CompressedAdaptation condensing too much of the story]] and abusing narration TimeSkip.
38	* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' was split into [[Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows two movies]], released in 2010 and 2011.
39	* The 2010s movie adaptation of Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/{{It}}'' was split into two movies, with the [[Film/It2017 first one]] focusing on the main characters as kids, and the [[Film/ItChapterTwo second one]] focusing on them as adults.
40	* The ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' adapted the ''ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet'' storyline into ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' in 2018 and ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' in 2019. They were originally simply ''Infinity War'' Parts I and II before Marvel realized this would spoil that [[spoiler:TheBadGuyWins once it became clear he was the VillainProtagonist.]]
41	* The 1934 French adaptation for ''Literature/LesMiserables'' was divided into three parts which were released in three subsequent weeks, running a total of four-and-a-half hours.
42	* ''[[Literature/TheHungerGames Mockingjay]]'' was split into ''Film/TheHungerGamesMockingjayPart1'' (2014) and ''Film/TheHungerGamesMockingjayPart2'' (2015).
43	* Often happens with adaptations of ''Literature/TheThreeMusketeers'':
44	** The 1932 French version with Aimé Simon-Girard, Henri Rollan, Thomy Bourdelle and Edith Méra was split into two parts, ''The Queen's Diamonds'' and ''Milady''.
45	** The [[Film/TheThreeMusketeers1961 1961 French version]] with Creator/GerardBarray and Creator/MyleneDemongeot was also split into two parts, ''The Queen's Diamonds'' and ''Milady's Revenge''.
46	** As was the [[Film/TheThreeMusketeers1973 1973 US/UK version]] with Creator/MichaelYork, Creator/OliverReed, Creator/RichardChamberlain, Creator/CharltonHeston, Creator/RaquelWelch, Creator/FayeDunaway, and Creator/ChristopherLee. The second part is titled ''The Four Musketeers'' and was released the following year.
47	** Ditto with the [[Film/TheThreeMusketeers2023 2023 French version]] with Creator/FrancoisCivil, Creator/EvaGreen, Creator/RomainDuris, Creator/VincentCassel and Creator/LouisGarrel, with the two parts being titled ''D'Artagnan'' and ''Milady''.
48	* ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium'':
49	** InUniverse, the entire story of ''Literature/TheHobbit'' and ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' was a single volume, the "Red Book of Westmarch", written by Bilbo, Frodo and Sam. Each of the real-life books are presented as Tolkien [[DirectLineToTheAuthor translating]] parts of the Red Book into English.
50	** ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' divides the story into three films, but they are not split at the same points that the three volumes of the novel are:
51	*** ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing'' has Book One and Book Two, plus the first chapter of Book Three.[[note]]Chapters four through seven of Book One are cut.[[/note]]
52	*** ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers'' has chapters two through seven and nine of Book Three and the first six chapters of Book Four.
53	*** ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing'' has chapters eight, ten, and eleven of Book Three, the last four chapters of Book Four, and all of Book Five and Book Six.[[note]]Chapters five, six, and eight of Book Six are cut.[[/note]]
54	*** All three films also adapt some details included in the book's six [[AllThereInTheManual Appendices]].
55	** ''Literature/TheHobbit'' was adapted into three movies: ''Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney'', ''Film/TheHobbitTheDesolationOfSmaug'', and ''Film/TheHobbitTheBattleOfTheFiveArmies''. However, the second movie also includes material from the Appendix of ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'' (such as Gandalf's chance meeting with Thorin and his offscreen fight with "The Necromancer" aka Sauron).
56	* ''Film/TheMazeRunnerSeries'': Subverted. Fox wanted to split the trilogy's final entry ''The Death Cure'' into two movies, but director Wes Ball said he'd leave if they did, so they kept it as just the one film instead.
57	* ''Film/{{Twilight}}'': ''Breaking Dawn'' was split into two movies, which were released in 2011 and 2012.
58	* As ''Literature/WarAndPeace'' is a massive {{Doorstopper}} and can be a challenge for adaptations, [[Film/WarAndPeace1966 the Soviet version]] takes the cake being a more faithful adaptation and was released into four parts in 1966 and 1967 with a total runtime of ''7 hours and 11 minutes''.
59	[[/folder]]
60
61	[[folder:Literature]]
62	* When Creator/DouglasAdams adapted his radio play ''Radio/{{The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy\|1978}}'' into book form, it came out in two volumes, as ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1'' and ''Literature/TheRestaurantAtTheEndOfTheUniverse''. He would tell the story that he took so long over writing it that his publisher rang him up and told him to finish the page he was on and send the whole thing over, and they'd release the rest later.
63	[[/folder]]
64
65	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
66	* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
67	** While season one adapts ''Literature/AGameOfThrones'' faithfully, as did season two with ''Literature/AClashOfKings'', it took two seasons for the show to cover the events of ''Literature/AStormOfSwords''. Season five inverts this, as it adapts ''Literature/AFeastForCrows'' and ''Literature/ADanceWithDragons'' simultaneously, although it took so many liberties with the story that it ended up diverging significantly from the source material. Due to Creator/GeorgeRRMartin having yet to finish the books, the last three seasons of the show have to be made out of whole cloth (although season six incorporated some ideas from ''Feast'' and ''Dance'' that didn't make it in season five).
68	** The prequel series ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'' is adapted from ''Literature/FireAndBlood'', but only focuses on the [[CivilWar Dance of the Dragons]] and the build up to it, which spans chapter twelve ("Heirs of the Dragon - A Question of Succession") to eighteen ("The Dying of the Dragons - The Short, Sad Reign of Aegon II") in the book. In spite of this limited scope, the entirety of season one only covers chapter twelve (that is, just ''one'' chapter), with the meat of the story being saved for later seasons. [[https://deadline.com/2022/10/george-r-r-martin-house-of-the-dragon-needs-four-full-seasons-hbo-time-jumps-1235141958/ G.R.R. Martin has commented]] that at this pace, it will take four seasons for the show to cover the events of the Dance of the Dragons.
69	* The Appendices written at the of ''The Return of the King'' barely sum up around 100 pages, of which only appendices A and B deals with the history of Numenor, Second and Third Age. ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'' [[https://www.empireonline.com/tv/news/lord-of-the-rings-power-five-seasons-fully-planned-out-exclusive/ is planned to cover them in 5 seasons]].
70	* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' has been splitting a number of their adapted ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' series into two parts starting TheNewTens thanks to [[ExecutiveMeddling a mandate]] by the TV network of shows having only twenty episodes max (a Sentai Series usually has around fifty) per season. The only series to avert this so far is ''Series/PowerRangersMegaforce'', which is an AdaptationAmalgamation of ''Series/TensouSentaiGoseiger'' (Season 1, in 2013) and ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'' (Season 2, in 2014):
71	** ''Series/SamuraiSentaiShinkenger'' to ''Series/PowerRangersSamurai'' in 2011 and 2012.
72	** ''Series/ZyudenSentaiKyoryuger'' to ''Series/PowerRangersDinoCharge'' in 2015 and 2016.
73	** ''Series/ShurikenSentaiNinninger'' to ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaSteel'' in 2017 and 2018.
74	** ''Series/TokumeiSentaiGoBusters'' to ''Series/PowerRangersBeastMorphers'' in 2019 and 2020.
75	** ''Series/KishiryuSentaiRyusoulger'' to ''Series/PowerRangersDinoFury'' in 2021 and 2022.
76	* ''Series/{{Runaways 2017}}'' spreads the plot of [[ComicBook/{{Runaways}} the original miniseries]] over multiple seasons.
77	* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoWBYdZiOzA parodied]] ''The Hobbit'' with a ParodyCommercial for ''The Hobbit'', which it says will be in '''nineteen''' 3-hour movies. The first film is already in the can, but others include ''The Hobbit 2: Journey to the Beginning of the Walk to Smaug's Lair'', ''Hobbit 3: Shoot, I Just Realized I Forgot Something Back at the Shire. Mind if we Double Back?'' and ''Hobbit 4: Apple Maps: An Unexpected Detour''. The final film will be released in 2028 - bring your grandkids!
78	* ''Series/ViennaBlood'' originally ran on the Creator/{{BBC}} as three 90-minute episodes per season. When the series was played on ''Series/{{Masterpiece}}'' in the United States, Creator/{{PBS}} broke the episodes into 45-minute segments to fit its time slot.
79	[[/folder]]
80
81	[[folder:Video Games ]]
82	* The VideoGameRemake of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' is split into three titles, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRebirth'', and an untitled third game. ''Remake'' only covers up to leaving Midgar, which was only about a quarter into the original game's disc one out of three, while ''Rebirth'' covers the rest of the game's first disc. The third game will presumably cover discs two and three (the latter of which isn't as lengthy as the others, containing only the FinalBoss and dungeon).
83	* The 2017 video game adaptation of Ken Follett's ''Literature/ThePillarsOfTheEarth'' was split into three parts.
84	* The remake of ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'' is a massive AdaptationExpansion of the original, with an immense amount of additional content to the individual [[StoryBranching routes]]. As such, the remake is being released in parts, with 2021's ''Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon-'' only consisting of the original's "Near Side" routes, and the yet to be released ''Tsukihime -The other side of red garden-'' containing the "Far Side" routes, including the Satsuki route, which was planned for the original but removed.
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	[[folder:Web Animation ]]
88	* ''WebAnimation/FinalFantasyVIIMachinabridged'': The first three seasons cover [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII the original game's]] first disc. Season 4 is enough to cover the entirety of Disc 2. Ditto the FinaleMovie for the third and final disc.
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:Western Animation ]]
92	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'': When the book ''Arthur's Teacher Trouble'' was adapted for the show, the storyline was split into two episodes, "Arthur and the Real Mr. Ratburn" and "Arthur's Spelling Trubble".
93	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hilda}}'': The animated adaptation of the graphic novel "Hilda and the Midgnight Giant" is spread over two episodes, with several new scenes added. The events from "Hilda and the Black Hound" are divided over 4 episodes, though the bulk of the story was used for the Season 1 finale.
94	* Creator/SkyOne's animated series based on ''Literature/TheMoomins'', ''Moominvalley'', has two episodes directly based on the novel ''Moominsummer Madness'' and one that seems to be inspired by it. Instead of ending on a cliffhanger however, the episode of the same title is an AdaptationDistillation in which Moominvalley is flooded, the Moomins discover the theatre and meet Emma, and then the valley is unflooded again. The part about them actually putting on a play is moved to the next episode, after the flood (although the audience still end up in boats), where it's [[AdaptationAmalgamation combined]] with the comic strip story "The Golden Tale". And Snufkin's subplot is likewise given its own episode later, "Snufkin and the Park-Keeper".
95	* Nelvana's ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTintin1991'' split the Franchise/{{Tintin}} stories into two 23-minute episodes each, excluding ''[[Recap/TintinRedRackhamsTreasure Red Rackham's Treasure]]'', ''[[Recap/TintinTheShootingStar The Shooting Star]]'', and ''[[Recap/TintinTintinInAmerica Tintin In America]]'', which were each adapted as a single episode, and the unadapted stories ''Tintin In The Land Of The Soviets'', ''Tintin In The Congo'', and ''Tintin And Alph-Art''.
96	[[/folder]]

Context Main / DividedForAdaptation