Robert Schwentke Takes Over “Insurgent”

Deadline reports that "Flightplan" and "Red" director Robert Schwentke will call action on the second film in the planned franchise, based on author Veronica Roth's young adult novel “Insurgent”.

Divergent director Neil Burger (“Limitless”) opted NOT to return to call action on the follow-up--due to the compressed production schedule for the film series, which aims to release one film a year. Akiva Goldsman is currently polishing the adapted script based on a previous draft by Brian Duffield.

Summit Entertainment plans to release the films annually with the first one on March 21st 2014 and the second on March 20th 2015. “Insurgent” will begin production this Spring to make that release date. The film adaptation of  the third book in the series, “Allegiant,” is targeting a March 18th 2016 release date.

The action is set in a society divided into five factions that each represent a particular virtue: honesty, selflessness, bravery, peacefulness and intelligence.Once a year, sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. It's then a teenage boy and girl set out to rebel against the system and discover a growing conflict that threatens to unravel this seemingly perfect society.

Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Zoe Kravitz, Miles Teller, Maggie Q, Tony Goldwyn, Ashley Judd and Kate Winslet star in the first film.

Pouya Shabazian, Lucy Fisher and Douglas Wick will produce while Rachel Shane is executive producing.

Divergent is due out March 21st, 2014 in the states--and April 4 in the U.K.