Shailene Woodley Boards ‘Divergent,’ Latest Young Adult Phenom

"Divergent" is seen as a potential franchise for Summit and Shailene Woodley

Shailene Woodley is set to join "Divergent," hoping, no doubt, that the futuristic adventure will have the same propulsive effect on her career that "The Hunger Games" had on Jennifer Lawrence's rise to stardom. 

Getty ImagesSummit Entertainment said Thursday that "The Descendants" star is in final negotiations to join the film, which the studio sees as a potential young adult franchise. Like "The Hunger Games" and "Twilight," "Divergent" is based on a best-selling book and will arrive on screen with a devoted fan base.

"Divergent" will be directed by Neil Burger ("The Illusionist") and will hit theaters on March 21, 2014.

Set in a dystopic future (is there any other kind, these days?), the society of "Divergent" separates people into distinct factions based on their personalities. That's bad news for Tris Prior (Woodley), who finds out she is Divergent and will never fit into any one group. The action kicks off when Tris uncovers a conspiracy to destroy her fellow Divergents.

The book was written by 23-year-old Veronica Roth, a first-time novelist, who followed her first novel with the book "Insurgent."

Woodley turned heads last year as a grieving teenager in Alexander Payne's "The Descendants," and is set to complete her starring role in the long-running ABC Family series "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" after its upcoming fifth season.

Woodley is represented by Paradigm, Savage Agency, Principato-Young Entertainment and her attorney, Felker Toczek Gellman Suddleson. 

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