Final Divergent book to be split into two films

The film adaptation of the final book in the Divergent sci-fi series is set to be split into two parts.

The dystopian movies, starring Shailene Woodley, are based on the futuristic trilogy penned by young adult author Veronica Roth, but studio executives at Summit Entertainment have decided to spread the story of the third installment, Allegiant, over two releases, meaning there will be a total of four films in the Divergent franchise.

Divergent's first big screen adaptation has grossed more than $139 million at the global box office since hitting theaters last month (Mar14), and the sequel, Insurgent, is due to begin production later this year (14), ahead of a March, 2015 launch.

Now fans have been given two more dates to look forward to - Allegiant - Part 1 will premiere in March, 2016, followed by Allegiant - Part 2 a year later (17).

Divergent isn't the first book-to-movie franchise to adopt this storytelling strategy - the last novels in the Twilight and Harry Potter series were also turned into two-part film finales, while The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 & 2 are set to hit theaters in late 2014 and 2015, respectively.