For the unaware, Veronica Roth‘s Divergent trilogy is an über-popular teen series about a dystopian world in which society is separated into factions based on dominant characteristics (the main character, Tris, belongs to the Dauntless faction, whose members are characterized by bravery). As with all über-popular teen series (serieses? serieseses?) these days, there’s a movie adaptation in the works. We already know who’s playing Tris (that would be Shailene Woodley), but Variety has news about a possible new addition to the cast: Kate Winslet.
Who Winslet is in talks to play is unknown at this point, but there are only a few characters who would match. My mind first went to Tris’ mother Natalie, who seems all sweet and boring at first but then turns out to be a total badass in book two, Insurgent. However, most speculation is that she’ll play the villain, Jeanine Matthews, which seems more likely if only because [major Insurgent spoilers] Natalie dies in the second book, while Jeanine’s character only gets more screentime. If they’re going to hire a big actor like Winslet, I’d imagine it would be for as big as a role as possible.
I find Matthews, head of the Erudite (aka “smart people” faction), to be kind of a boring character—super-smart, sneaky, wants to control society, I’ve seen this in a billion books and movies already, thanks. I’d more like to see Winslet play Natalie because the prospect of her fighting her way through a crowd of brainwashed soldiers to save her daughter’s life is more interesting to me than “Bow before my superior intellect and British accent, BWAHAHAHA,” even if Natalie’s role is smaller.
So. That’s where we are with Divergent now. Obligatory Teen Series Love Interest Four hasn’t been cast yet, and the movie doesn’t come out for another year-plus, so it might (miiiiight) be a while yet before we get any official casting news on that.
(via: Variety)
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