How on fire is Shailene Woodley right now? After breaking out in The Descendants last year, she didn't take long to capitalize on it, signing on to James Ponsoldt's promising follow-up feature, The Spectacular Now, and Gregg Araki's White Bird. But it was the recent rumor she may play Mary Jane Watson in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 that really caught the attention of many, and now it's looking like things are only getting better.
Variety reports Woodley has entered talk to lead Divergent, based on the first book in Veronica Roth's wildly popular young adult sci-fi series. If it all comes together, she'll play 16-year old Beatrice Prior, who lives in a future version of Chicago where society is divided into five factions dedication to a particular virtue: Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). At the age of 16, all must decide which of these virtues they will dedicate their lives to, followed by a very competitive initiation process.
Last we heard, Neil Burger(The Lucky Ones) was circling the directing gig for what is being planned as a trilogy. The second book, Insurgent, was released in May with the third chapter due out next year. Snow White and the Huntsman's Evan Daugherty wrote the script, and comparisons to The Hunger Games have been made, both in terms of content and potential.
Woodley could be the next tween superstar, right up there with Kristen Stewart and Jennifer Lawrence. Filming on Divergent should begin next spring for release on March 21st 2014.
