Looking back at the 2010s, you would think that everyone in Hollywood was reading Young Adult literature and trying to find the next best story to adapt with the most talented young actors. Authors like Veronica Roth, Suzanne Collins, and James Dasher were gaining international recognition as their respective series —Divergent,The Hunger Games, andThe Maze Runner— were being adapted into films. Not only was everyone looking at YA movies at the time, but those with a sci-fi orbleak dystopian twistwere reaching the top of the charts.
Roth’s first book,Divergent, was adapted into a screenplay within just a couple of years of its publication, and the film instantly blew up. While teenagers all over the world were trying to discover who they are and what they wanted to be, Tris (Shailene Woodley) and her peers were selecting their new lifestyles. Plenty of fans were able to instantly identify with characters as they secretly thought about which Faction they would choose if given the chance.
It has been nearly eight years since the very sad and abrupt conclusion of the series, and some fans cannot get past thecancelation of the fourth film. However, there are a number of movies out there that hit just the right spot with the dystopian aspect, chemistry between characters, and overall feeling you got fromDivergent. Here are 10 movies to watch if you likedDivergent.
10The Hunger Games (2012)
The Hunger Games
Much like Tris Prior, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) fromThe Hunger Gamesis an intelligent, resourceful, and overall great role model for fans of all ages. Katniss sticks up for her family and friends, and no matter the consequences, she does what she believes is right. The first installment ofTheHunger Gamesfranchise came out just two years beforeDivergent, so teens and tweens alike were excited to see yet another powerful young woman character on the big screen taking down the corrupt government.
How It is Like Divergent
Rather than seeing yet another male character lead a dystopian film, we get two incredible young women (and actresses) in bothDivergentandThe Hunger Games. Seeing what each character values and how they meticulously think things through before taking the leap is inspirational for young girls everywhere, as they wholly prove that women are not just made to look pretty in a man’s world.Stream on STARZ
9The Maze Runner (2014)
Maze Runner
Teen Wolf’s goofy but lovable sidekick, Dylan O’Brien, received a much-deserved lead role inThe Maze Runner. He plays Thomas, a young man who wakes up in an artificial field with several other boys. Instead of immediately accepting his new reality,Thomas has many questions. One month later, when a girl — the first and only to ever show up — arrives with a note indicating their supplies and new arrivals have ceased, Thomas makes it his mission to find a way out of the “Glade.”
Just six months afterDivergentfirst premiered,The Maze Runnerhit theaters and became an instant success. LikeDivergent, a group of young adults are forced into a situation in which they are expected to simply accept their new reality. Thomas, much like Tris, does not believe in accepting his new fate. While Tris lives in a world where separation by factions is just a part of life, Thomas believes the artificial environment he’s been dumped into is not the way the world really is. Both end up very surprised by their discoveries.Stream on DIRECTV
8The Giver (2014)
The Giverfollows a young boy named Jonas as he reaches “graduation day” and, like his peers, is assigned a job for the rest of his life. It is announced that Jonas is to become the next Receiver of Memory, and during his training, he realizes the black and white world he lives in is all artificial. From the way children are brought into the world to how people feel (or don’t feel) emotions, he learns that everything he ever knew was a fabricated lie.
Lois Lowry was ahead of her time in the ’90s when she was writingThe Giver, but luckily, fans got to see her creation come to life on the big screen in 2014. BothThe GiverandDivergentfocus on young adults who realize their worlds are not as perfect as everyone makes them out to be. Both protagonists desperately try to get others to see the reality before them, but too many people are content with their ignorance and compliant lifestyles.Stream on Netflix
7The Spectacular Now (2013)
The Spectacular Now
Before Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller were at one another’s throats inDivergent, they were a perfect representation of young love inThe Spectacular Now. From the screenplay by the same guys who made500 Days of Summer,The Spectacular Nowis a2013 coming-of-age dramathat follows Sutter (Teller), a high school senior who chooses a stiff drink over everything else in his life. After getting blackout drunk, he meets a nice girl named Aimee (Woodley), and the pair hit it off. Sutter introduces Aimee to alcohol and a rather unsheltered lifestyle, and Aimee makes Sutter realize he needs to take charge of his own life.
WhileThe Spectacular Nowis far from being a dystopian film likeDivergent, the two still have many similarities. Aside from sharing actors Woodley and Teller, both films show vulnerable teenagers in a state where they feel as if they know what they want until they are given the chance to be something greater than they ever imagined.Stream on Max
6Ready Player One (2018)
Ready Player One
Imagine it’s the year 2045, and everyone simply wants to get away from reality so badly that they count down the minutes until they can put on a virtual reality headset and actually jump into another universe. When the creator of the artifical OASIS universe dies inReady Player One, he leaves behind a contest for everyone to compete in for the chance to become the new owner. From teenagers to highly skilled and relentless killers, everyone seems to want to join the action, but the challenges prove to be more complicated than anyone imagined.
BothDivergentandReady Player Onedeal with technologically advanced worlds, and their characters show how corrupt people in high positions can and want to take advantage of others by using technology.Ready Player Oneis full of fun pop culture references, and it feels as if you are solving the game’s puzzle alongside Wade rather than just watching him and his friends go on the simulated yet deadly adventure together.Stream on DIRECTV
Related:10 Sci-Fi Movies That Actually Have Utopias Instead of Dark Dystopias
5The 5th Wave (2016)
The 5th Wave
Before the official publication of Rick Yancey’s novelThe 5th Waveeven took place, Columbia Pictures had already picked up rights to it. The story is more sci-fi than dystopian as it follows a teenager named Cassie Sullivan (played by Chloë Grace Moretz), who is simply trying to survive with her family in a world that is being taken over by aliens. Cassie and her brother have managed to live through the first four waves, but the fifth wave pits naive children against everyone else.
Once again, a strong young woman lead is used in a YA film, but instead of trying to bring down the government, Cassie is just trying to survive. WhileDivergentshows audiences that humankind is to blame for death, cruelty, and the ultimate destruction of a fair society,The 5th Waveshows us how people have to come together and trust one another to stand a chance against extraterrestrial beings.Stream on DIRECTV
4Lucy (2014)
Scarlett Johnasson’s performanceinLucyis incredible, as she portrays the titular naive young woman, who is tricked by her boyfriend into becoming a drug mule, and who turns into a lethal killer after involuntarily ingesting the drugs she’s meant to be smuggling. The premise of the film is something everyone seems to want to know more about — what happens when a person’s brain activity reaches 100%? — and plenty of hypothetical interpretations are utilized throughout.
Both Tris and Lucy start out as naive individuals who just want to go about their regular lives. However, after both women discover that things are not as they seem, they realize they must do something about it. Tris' mission inDivergentis to take down the Faction that is trying to control everyone else, and Lucy is slowly but surely trying to understand the meaning of humanity and life.Stream on Netflix
Related:20 Movies That Will Make You Think
3The Fault in Our Stars (2014)
The Fault in Our Stars
Three months after audiences saw Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort play a brother-sister duo inDivergent, they were stunned to see the pair together again as love interests inThe Fault in Our Stars. Based on John Green’s 2012 novel of the same name, the story follows a teenage girl named Hazel, who just so happens to have cancer. While attending a support group, she meets and falls in love with a boy only to find out that his cancer has come back and is terminal. The two enjoy what little time they have together without having any regrets.
Aside from the casting, this coming-of-age romance has several things in common with the dystopian film. InDivergent, Woodley’s character takes chances and risks her life for a guy she loves. InThe Fault in Our Stars, her character is at risk every day from her cancer, but she still takes a chance at falling in love.Stream on Disney+
2Ender’s Game (2013)
Ender’s Game
Based on Orson Scott Card’s 1985 novel,Ender’s Gameis set far in the future, when all humans are at war with an alien race. A young man, Andrew “Ender” Wiggins (Asa Butterfield), is an exceptionally gifted student who has been training with the younger generation to become the best soldiers who will wipe out the alien enemies. Ender has to strategize and go through rigorous training and simulations to prove he is willing to do anything to save humanity.
Much like the people who choose to be a part of the Dauntless Faction inDivergent, teenagers inEnder’s Gameare forced to train and prepare for disaster. Ender is much like Tris in the sense that he wants to be something more among his peers. However, only one of them realizes how their actions and decisions can turn deadly before it is too late.Stream on Peacock
1The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Based on the first book in Cassandra Clare’sThe Mortal Instrumentsseries,City of Bonesfollows Clary (Lily Collins) as she discovers the world around her is not as it has always seemed. She learns that vampires, werewolves, angels, and demons exist. She also learns that she is a Shadowhunter, who is in great trouble as another (former) Shadowhunter is trying to control both demons and other Shadowhunters. Clary joins forces with others to try to find artifacts to ensure that does not happen.
Rather than choosing one’s fate like inDivergentwhen it comes to picking factions, Clary’s future was set the moment she was born into a Shadowhunter family. TheMortal Instruments: City of Boneswent toe to toe withDivergentat the Teen Choice Awards in the categories Choice Movie: Action, Choice Movie: Actor Action, and Choice Movie: Actress Action, butlost in all threeto the latter film.Stream on Netflix
