When Miles Teller signed on to star in the **Divergent** franchise, he wasn’t yet a major star. Up to that point, he’d largely appeared in films like *Rabbit Hole*, *The Spectacular Now*, and *Project X*. However, if you went into *Divergent* expecting something akin to *Project X*, you were likely to be pretty disappointed.
Unlike those earlier films, which centered on teenagers caught up in realistic, relatable situations, *Divergent* is a dystopian franchise adapted from a young adult book series by Veronica Roth. In this world, teenagers are sorted into factions based on a mysterious destiny that dictates the jobs they must hold for the rest of their lives.
Teller signed on to play Peter, a character who begins as an antagonist and frequently obstructs various revolutionary plans initiated by Tris (Shailene Woodley), the series’ main protagonist. Interestingly, Woodley and Teller had previously starred together in *The Spectacular Now*. Despite this connection, Teller was apparently quite unhappy with how things went during the *Divergent* production—a much bigger-budgeted film compared to his earlier work.
“I didn’t have an interesting part, and I’d taken the film for business reasons,” Teller later confessed to *W* magazine. “It was the first movie I’d done that was going to have an international audience. I called my agent and said, ‘This sucks.’” It was on that phone call that his agent told him about *Whiplash*, the film that would eventually gain him major critical acclaim.
Still, there were pesky *Divergent* sequels to film. By the time Teller returned to shoot 2015’s *Insurgent*, he had already revealed his true feelings about his role. That interview was just one of many warning signs that the franchise was in trouble.
Clearly greenlit to compete with other dystopian YA adaptations like *The Hunger Games*, the *Divergent* movies failed to capture a similar level of acclaim or audience enthusiasm. The first *Hunger Games* film earned an impressive 84% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while *Divergent* only managed a 41%, labeled “rotten.” Ouch.
Despite the poor reception, *Insurgent* and *Allegiant* followed anyway. The third film performed even worse, limping to an 11% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Although a fourth film was initially announced—based on the second half of *Allegiant*—it soon became clear that the franchise had lost momentum.
Lionsgate revealed that the final movie would instead premiere on television and serve as a lead-in to a TV series continuation. However, the cast wasn’t on board with this plan, mirroring their characters’ own rebellious spirits. “Last I heard, they were trying to make it into a television show,” Shailene Woodley told *ScreenRant*. “I didn’t sign up to be in a television show.”
Eventually, the project was completely scrapped.
So, yes—they split the last book into two movies and then never made the final film. We imagine Miles Teller wasn’t too upset about that. But if you’re curious and want to experience the trainwreck for yourself, here’s the right way to watch the *Divergent* series in order.
Just don’t say we didn’t warn you.
https://www.looper.com/2009276/miles-teller-divergent-feelings/