Shailene Woodley to Lead DIVERGENT Adaptation

Actress circles lead in ‘Hunger Games’-like franchise.

While she awaits to hear if she has landed the iconic role of Mary Jane Watson in Marc Webb’s ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2,’ ‘The Descendants’ star Shailene Woodley has her eyes on another project. Variety is reporting that the 20-year-old actress has entered final negotiations for the lead in Summit Entertainment’s dystopian tale ‘Divergent.’

Set in a near-future Chicago where society is divided into five factions that each represent a particular virtue, the story follows 16-year-old Beatrice “Tris” Prior, who must choose among these predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life. Tris’ decision is made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.

‘Divergent’ is the first in a planned trilogy and is based on the young adult novel of the same name by 23-year-old first time author Veronica Roth. The best-selling tome was acquired by Summit Entertainment back in March 2011, two months before it was published.

As previously reported, ‘Limitless’ helmer Neil Burger is attached to direct with a screenplay coming from ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ scribe Evan Daugherty. Plan is for the project to begin shooting in March 2013 with release aimed for early 2014.