Movies to Watch if You Liked ‘Divergent’

As a film fan, I remember the 2010s being completely dominated by Young Adult adaptations. It felt like everyone in Hollywood was scrambling to find the next big YA series to turn into a movie, and they were pairing it with all the popular young actors. Authors like Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins, and James Dashner really broke through, with their books becoming huge films. What really stood out, though, was how popular those YA stories with a darker, sci-fi or dystopian edge were – they were consistently the biggest hits.

Veronica Roth’s debut novel, Divergent, was quickly turned into a popular movie just two years after it was published. Although the film series ended unexpectedly almost eight years ago, leaving some fans disappointed, there are still plenty of other films that capture the same dystopian feel, strong character connections, and overall vibe as Divergent. Here are 11 movies for fans who enjoyed Divergent.

‘The Hunger Games’ (2012)

Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games, is a strong and admirable character, much like Tris Prior. She’s smart, capable, and always stands up for her loved ones, even when it’s difficult. The Hunger Games movie came out shortly before Divergent, and both films thrilled young audiences with their stories of courageous young women fighting against unfair systems.

It’s refreshing to see strong female leads in dystopian films like Divergent and The Hunger Games, instead of the usual male protagonist. These characters are inspiring to young girls because they demonstrate intelligence, thoughtfulness, and prove that women are capable of far more than just being decorative.

‘The Maze Runner’ (2014)

Dylan O’Brien, known for his charming role as the funny friend in Teen Wolf, got a chance to shine as the main character in The Maze Runner. He plays Thomas, a teenager who finds himself in a strange, constructed world with a group of other boys. Unlike the others, Thomas isn’t willing to simply accept his situation and immediately starts searching for answers. A month later, the arrival of a girl – the first ever – and a message stating their supplies won’t be replenished, motivates Thomas to lead the charge in finding a way out of their enclosure, known as the “Glade.”

I was really into Divergent when The Maze Runner came out just a few months later, and it blew up right away! What I loved about both movies is that they throw these young people into crazy situations and expect them to just deal with it. But both the main characters, Tris and Thomas, aren’t about that – they question everything. Tris is fighting against the faction system, and Thomas immediately knows something is seriously wrong with where he’s been put. It’s so cool to watch them both figure out what’s really going on, and they both get some major surprises along the way!

‘The Giver’ (2014)

As a huge cinema fan, I was really captivated by The Giver. It tells the story of Jonas, a young boy who, on what they call ‘Graduation Day,’ is assigned his lifelong career. He ends up chosen as the Receiver of Memory, and that’s when things get wild. Through his training, Jonas discovers the seemingly perfect world he lives in is completely fake. He learns everything – from how babies are born to how people experience emotions – has been carefully constructed and that his entire life has been based on a lie. It’s a really thought-provoking film!

Lois Lowry’s novel, The Giver, written in the 1990s, was remarkably insightful, and it was exciting to see it adapted into a movie in 2014. Like The Giver, the novel Divergent centers on a young person discovering that their seemingly perfect world is flawed. Both stories feature main characters who struggle to open the eyes of others, but find many people are comfortable remaining unaware and living easy lives.

‘The Spectacular Now’ (2013)

Written by the team behind 500 Days of Summer, The Spectacular Now is a touching story about growing up. It centers on Sutter, a high school senior who prefers drinking to dealing with his problems. After a night of heavy drinking, he meets Aimee, and they quickly connect. While Sutter introduces Aimee to a more carefree and sometimes reckless world, Aimee, in turn, helps Sutter understand he needs to take responsibility for his future.

Although The Spectacular Now isn’t a futuristic, cautionary tale like Divergent, the two movies share common ground. Besides featuring the same actors, Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller, both films center on teenagers who think they have life figured out—until opportunities arise that challenge them to grow beyond their expectations.

‘Ready Player One’ (2018)

It’s 2045, and people are desperate to escape the real world, eagerly awaiting the moment they can immerse themselves in virtual reality. When the creator of the OASIS, a massive virtual universe, passes away in Ready Player One, he launches a contest to determine who will inherit it. Everyone from kids to ruthless competitors jumps at the chance, but the challenges turn out to be far more difficult than they expected.

Both Divergent and Ready Player One explore worlds with advanced technology, and demonstrate how powerful people can misuse it to exploit others. Ready Player One is particularly engaging because of its many pop culture references, and it makes you feel like you’re actively participating in the game’s challenges alongside the main character, Wade, rather than just observing his dangerous adventure.

‘The 5th Wave’ (2016)

Even before Rick Yancey’s novel, The 5th Wave, was released, Columbia Pictures had secured the rights to adapt it into a film. The story leans more towards science fiction than a typical dystopian narrative, centering on Cassie Sullivan (played by Chloë Grace Moretz), a teenager struggling to survive an alien invasion with her family. Cassie and her brother have overcome the first four waves of attacks, but the fifth wave presents a new, terrifying threat: children turned against each other and everyone else.

Another young woman takes the lead in a young adult movie, but this time, instead of fighting a system, Cassie is simply focused on staying alive. While Divergent suggests that human nature causes conflict and societal breakdown, The 5th Wave highlights the importance of unity and trust when facing an alien threat.

‘Lucy’ (2014)

Scarlett Johansson gives a stunning performance in Lucy, playing a young woman initially taken advantage of by her boyfriend and forced into drug smuggling. After accidentally absorbing the drugs, she transforms into a dangerous and highly skilled fighter. The movie explores a fascinating question – what would happen if humans could fully utilize 100% of their brain capacity? – and offers many thought-provoking ideas about this possibility.

Initially, both Tris and Lucy are simply ordinary people leading normal lives. But when they each discover a hidden truth, they’re forced to take action. Tris fights to dismantle a controlling system in Divergent, while Lucy gradually seeks to understand what it truly means to be human.

‘The Fault in Our Stars’ (2014)

Just three months after starring as siblings in the movie Divergent, Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort surprised audiences again, this time as a couple in The Fault in Our Stars. The film, based on John Green’s popular 2012 novel, tells the story of Hazel, a teenager battling cancer. At a support group, she meets and falls for a boy, but their happiness is threatened when she learns his cancer has returned and is incurable. They focus on making the most of their remaining time together, determined to live without regrets.

Okay, so beyond the actors, this new coming-of-age romance really reminded me of Divergent. Shailene Woodley’s character in both films is willing to do anything for love – in Divergent, she’s physically risking her life, and in this new movie, The Fault in Our Stars, she’s battling cancer, but still opens her heart up to a relationship. It’s that same willingness to take a leap, even when the stakes are incredibly high, that connects the two stories for me.

‘Ender’s Game’ (2013)

The movie Ender’s Game, based on Orson Scott Card’s 1985 novel, takes place in the distant future during a human war against an alien race. Andrew “Ender” Wiggins (played by Asa Butterfield) is a brilliant young student who is being trained to lead humanity’s soldiers against these aliens. He must master strategy and endure intense training and simulations to demonstrate his commitment to saving the world.

Similar to the characters who join the Dauntless faction in Divergent, the teenagers in Ender’s Game are compelled to undergo intense training, preparing for a potential catastrophe. Both Ender and Tris strive to stand out from their peers, but only one of them fully understands the potentially fatal consequences of their choices before it’s too late.

‘The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones’ (2013)

Based on the first book in Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series, City of Bones tells the story of Clary (Lily Collins) as she uncovers a hidden world filled with vampires, werewolves, angels, and demons. She discovers she’s a Shadowhunter with a dangerous destiny, as a rogue Shadowhunter attempts to seize control of demons and other Shadowhunters. Clary teams up with allies to locate powerful artifacts and stop this from happening.

Unlike the story in Divergent, where characters choose their own paths by joining different groups, Clary’s destiny was decided from birth as part of a Shadowhunter family. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones and Divergent competed against each other at the Teen Choice Awards in the categories of Action Movie, Action Movie Actor, and Action Movie Actress, but Divergent won all three awards.

2026-04-19 22:25