Forgotten Dystopian Sci-Fi Rival of The Hunger Games Officially Returns in Epic 2027 Release

The Hunger Games came at a time when there was a boom of young adult fantasy fiction, which also included franchises like Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and Twilight. However, one series became a true rival for the Jennifer Lawrence-starring franchise as it had a similar dystopian setting and was popular for its central romance: the Divergent series.

Veronica Roth’s trilogy set in a world divided into personality factions was a huge hit and even led to an incomplete film adaptation. While the original novel’s ending divided fans, the author is now back with a revival of the franchise. She released the first book in the new series, The Sixth Faction, and a sequel, The Last Testimony, is out in February 2027.

Hunger Games Rival Already Got a Revival with The Sixth Faction

Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games | Credits: Lionsgate

After Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games franchise received two new prequels in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Sunrise on the Reaping, the Young Adult fantasy genre seems to be making a comeback. Both prequels got a movie adaptation, with the latter currently in post-production and set for a release in November 2026.

Now, the YA revival has another classic franchise ready for a revival. Earlier this month, the next book from the Divergent series by Veronica Roth, The Sixth Faction, was released to stands. The novel goes back to the moment Beatrice Prior chooses the Dauntless faction and instead chooses something else. How things change after that and how she eventually meets Four forms the rest of the series.

Roth wrote the first set of novels when she was 23 and has grown a lot since then. The author reportedly revisited the franchise after many years and even listened to it on audiobooks and found a fresh perspective. She said to THR,

Divergent has this staying power that I wasn’t expecting. It’s hard for books to have that kind of lingering effect on a readership, and because it had that power, I thought I needed to course-correct my own feelings about it. I’d carried some anxiety baggage about Divergent, and I thought making something new would help me rediscover my love for the characters and the world. That’s where The Sixth Faction came from.

The next novel in the series, The Last Testimony, is set to release in February 2027. That will reportedly close out this alternate universe duology; however, there might still be scope for an expansion depending on how the books perform.

Author Veronica Roth Spoke About Divergent and Adapting New Duology

Theo James and Shailene Woodley in Divergent | Credits: Lionsgate

While many YA adaptations like The Hunger Games, Twilight, Harry Potter, and The Maze Runner got to finish adapting all the novels and close out the story, the two franchises that were left sort of incomplete were Percy Jackson and Divergent. The former got another lease of life with the Disney+ series, but what happened with Divergent was just sad.

The third novel in the trilogy was split into two parts (classic YA adaptation shenanigans), but after the third movie, Allegiant, underperformed at the box office, the final movie, Ascendant, was shelved. While there were plans to turn it into a TV movie, stars Shailene Woodley and Theo James reportedly declined to come back.

Despite the incomplete story, Veronica Roth mentioned that she was grateful for the films, as she got a lot of opportunities out of it. When asked if she would consider turning the latest duology into movies, she said (via THR),

I sent it to the people I needed to send it to. But I’m so focused on books; that’s my preferred medium. If something happens, that’ll be really fun, and if it doesn’t, that’s alright.

With The Hunger Games seeing a revival with the prequels and Percy Jackson possibly adapting all five novels into the Disney+ series, it might be time for the Divergent franchise to get a shot at redemption as well.

Are you excited to read The Sixth Faction and The Last Testimony? Comment below.