Veronica Roth revives 'Divergent' in 'The Sixth Dimension' (and talks about a movie that never happened)

The author talks about carrying the "baggage of anxiety" about the book series, revisits the story in an alternate universe retelling, and reflects on the never-ending film adaptations: "Everybody had moved on."

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Some stories refuse to stay on the page. The Hollywood Reporter's Beyond the Book column explores what happens when books make the leap to the screen and beyond — unpacking what stayed, what changed, how it was done and why it matters to the creators who made it.

More than a decade after the Divergent trilogy and its film adaptations ended, author Veronica Roth returns to the world that made her a YA phenomenon, this time asking what would have happened if her protagonist, Beatrice "Tris" Pryor, had chosen a different path.

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Released on October 6, The Sixth Faction reimagines Roth's bestselling series (Divergent, Insurgent and Allegiant) set in a post-apocalyptic society where citizens are divided into factions based on personality type. The first book in the planned duology is an alternate universe retelling rather than a prequel or sequel, and began as a personal project for Roth.

"Divergent has this staying power that I didn't expect," he tells The Hollywood Reporter. “It's hard for books to make such a lasting impression on readers, and because they had such power, I thought I should correct my feelings about it. I was carrying some anxiety about Divergent and thought that making something new would help me rediscover my love for the characters and the world. That's where The Six came in."

Roth adds that it was different and fresh to be re-immersed in "old world-making." "If you want to make it new, you have to go in a different direction, and that was very interesting," he says.

After more than a decade away from the series, Roth re-read it "more than once" and listened to audiobooks. "There's something about voice that makes text unfamiliar," he says. It's like reading it for the first time, and the novelty was really helpful."

Rereading changed his view of the books: “I feel like no one criticizes these books as much as I do. "I think it's important to grow as a writer, and they've been such a big part of my life that you just think about them a lot."

Despite being his own harshest critic, Roth says he's surprised by the strength of his characters. "I think even at that age I had a good instinct for the character, although I didn't have the skills in all areas that I hope to do now. The fun of it was amazing."

In the same universe, The Sixth Faction explores what happens when tragedy strikes at Tris's selection ceremony, and her decision puts her at the "crossroads of an underground rebellion, where a boy with secrets as dangerous as her own—a boy with just a number for a name—may be the only one she can trust."

Despite initial fan speculation that Tris' different love interest, Char, might not be in the story, Roth laughs off the notion that she won't be back. "He's literally on the cover," she says.

In the original books, Four was Tris' mentor after she joined the Flawless Squad. Roth says this time they meet on equal terms. She acknowledges that the previous set-up of a student and teacher falling in love was "a bit problematic," adding, "Let's all remember it's been 15 years." "He doesn't teach her anything, and she has things to teach him," she explains. Finding love and spark without that altered power dynamic was really my focus."

The new book also took a turn. "What surprised me is how it came off as a conspiracy thriller in this really exciting way," Roth says. A theme she didn't plan for also emerges: the adults in Tris's life repeatedly fail her, and this is how she comes of age. "It was very timely," says Roth. "I imagine it's really difficult for them to fit into the world the way it is now because they feel like there's no way out for them, and Tris certainly feels that way." Where he says the original series is based on a selected narrative with Tris, this book is "a little more about collective action."

Looking at this trilogy, it's impossible not to think of the film adaptations that were released from 2014 to 2016. Shailene Woodley starred as Tris and Theo James as Four, and the films also starred Kate Winslet, Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, Zoë Kravitz, Ashley Gold-Judd and Tony.

Arriving in the midst of the YA dystopian boom and also leapfrogging The Hunger Games and Maze Runner books to the screen, the films opened strongly at the box office. The release of Divergent in 2014 was followed by sequels Insurgent (2015) and Allegiant (2016), the latter of which covers only part of the third book. The studio planned to finish the story with a fourth film, Ascendant, but it never came to fruition after Allegiant's disappointing performance at the box office.

Lionsgate eventually turned Ascendant into a TV movie for Starz that could have spawned a spinoff series, but the plan was scrapped after actors including Woodley and James refused to return to a TV format. The adaptation was never completed.

"I think at that point all the actors kind of moved on," Roth says of the unmade film. "Everyone had moved forward and we were not going to go back."

Despite the bittersweet ending, she remains grateful for the films: "They gave me this great opportunity in my career that wouldn't have happened without them."

Since the final chapter of the story was never filmed, fans were left wondering if the films would have retained Tris' tragic fate from the 2013 book. (Spoiler alert: Tris dies, in an ending that divided fans.)

Asked whether the films could have kept the book's heartbreaking ending, Roth is blunt, "It's hard to say, because for sure they're going to say to the writer, 'All in all, we're going to keep your ending.'

At the moment it remains an unanswered question: "I think they were trying to find a way to do it, but obviously it didn't work out."

Roth stands by the conclusion he wrote, though his feelings have become more complicated.

"On the one hand, I'm proud of my past for doing the best it could and pursuing its artistic integrity as far as it could. So I never want to say I'm sorry because that would be a betrayal to him. I didn't feel it when I was 23 or 24 when I was writing that book, but I feel it now. "I'm sticking with it because it's a time capsule of where I was and I did the best I could."

He also sees value in it: preparing young readers for grief, he says, "is one of the jobs of literature at that age."

"It's a lot more tragic than I thought it would be," Roth says of Trace's ending. Benefit of time: hindsight is always 20/20.”

With the original trilogy and the films behind it, Roth has completed the second book of the duology, which will be released in February. On his book tour, he has revealed the cover of that book, The Last Testimony. After completing the duology, Divergent "feels nice and closed right now," he says, though he's learned to "never say never."

In an industry booming with book adaptations, Roth hopes The Sixth Faction can help revive interest in the dystopian genre.

“Dystopia is always about looking at the present, so it's a good critical-thinking genre, even if it's more of an adventure story. It still has its place."

But the hope is that “an ever-rising tide will lift all ships. I will be happy if people enter the bookstore because of this book.

The Sixth Faction is one of several projects that keep the author busy. He released adult dystopian fantasy The Traitor Boy in May, with a sequel coming out next year. "It's just always dystopia for Veronica Roth," he says. He admits that the parallels between writing "Traitor Son" and "The Sixth Ward" were a bit confusing. "I had a few sentences that were the same, and I had to cut them out," he laughs.

As for whether the Sixth Faction duology could be adapted like the original Divergent books, Roth doesn't rule it out, but he doesn't dwell on it: “I sent it to the people I was supposed to. But I am very focused on books; "It's my preferred medium. If something happens, it'll be really fun, and if it doesn't, that's okay."

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