Neil Burger Not Directing the Divergent Sequel

Although Summit Entertainment earlier today set a release date for the third film in the series, Variety is reporting that Divergent helmer Neil Burger won’t be directing the sequel. In a situation similar to what happened with Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, a search is now underway for a new director to tackle Insurgent, slated to hit theaters March 20, 2015.

Opening in theaters and IMAX on March 21, 2014, Divergent stars Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Ray Stevenson, Mekhi Phifer, Maggie Q, Jai Courtney, Miles Teller, Zoë Kravitz, Ansel Elgort, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Ben Lamb, Christian Madsen, Amy Newbold, Ashley Judd and Tony Goldwyn.

Divergent is a thrilling adventure set in a future world where people are divided into distinct factions based on their personalities. Tris Prior (Woodley) is warned she is Divergent and will never fit into any one group. When she discovers a conspiracy to destroy all Divergents, she must find out what makes being Divergent so dangerous before it’s too late.

UPDATE: Summit Entertainment has released the following statement:

“Neil Burger is a rock star and he is doing a fantastic job on Divergent. We can’t wait for you to see the film. But as amazing as Neil is he still cannot be in two places at once and thus needs to finish post production on Divergent while we gear up to start production on Insurgent. So, although Neil will continue on as part of our Divergent family as an executive producer, we sadly have to find another director for the next chapter in Veronica Roth’s fantastic series.”