Divergent Casting News: Shailene Woodley joined by Tony Goldwyn

Update: 4/17/2013

Even while filming for Divergent got underway 

So long Aaron Eckhardt

in Chicago last week - the movie is slated to come out on March 21, 2014 - we get the surprising casting news that Tony Goldwyn has been cast as Andrew Prior, Prior is Tris'(Shailene Woodley) father in the Veronica Roth novel.  A bit odd since Aaron Eckhart had been set to play the role but it happens all the time. Personally I hate to say goodbye to Eckhardt - who has Divergent listed on his imdb.com page as 'Currently filming' -  but I don't suppose the Divergent fan base will miss him. Not with the slew of handsome young men that the director, Neil Burger  has lined up: Theo James as Four,  Ansel Elgort as Caleb, Ben Lloyd-Hughes as Will,  Ben Lamb as Henry,  Jai Courtney as Eric, Christian Madsen as Al and Miles Teller as Peter. Teller will also star opposite Shailene in The Spectacular Now.

Theo James / Four

Ben Lloyd-Hughes/ Will

Ansel Elgort / Caleb

Ben Lamb/Edward

Jai Courtney / Eric

Miles Teller / Peter

Christian Madsen/Al

As it stands now, here's the Divergent cast list:
“Tris” – Shailene Woodley
“Four” – Theo James
“Jeanine” – Kate Winslet
“Caleb” – Ansel Elgort
“Marcus” – Ray Stevenson
“Peter” – Miles Teller
“Christina” – Zoë Kravitz
“Al” – Christian Madsen
“Will” – Ben Lloyd-Hughes
“Molly” – Amy Newbold
“Edward” – Ben Lamb
“Eric” – Jai Courtney
“Max” – Mekhi Phifer
“Tori” – Maggie Q
“Natalie” – Ashley Judd
“Andrew” – Tony Goldwyn


Divergent Update: 3/21/2013:  This is the 3rd update I think of the Divergent casting progress, in almost as many days. Today's big news:  Kate Winslet will join Shailene Woodley (Tris) in the movie based on Veronica Roth's book. She'll play Jeanine Matthews, the most powerful member of the Erudite faction.  
Here's my original post...

A couple of days ago I posted that Jai Courtney had been cast, and now Divergent has finally found its' Four to play opposite Shailene Woodley as Tris; Theo James. The handsome almost 30 year old British actor is known for television's Golden Boy, Underworld: The Awakening and he was the very epitome of tall dark and handsome in his appearance on Downton Abbey as Kemal Pamuk, the exotic seducer of Lady Mary. 

Theo James to play Four in Divergent

With its scheduled April start date in Chicago just around the corner, the casting office has been very busy sending out offers and getting contracts signed. In addition to Theo James, details are getting nailed down for deals with Kate Winslet, Aaron Eckhart, Ray Stevenson and Miles Teller who's also costarring with Shailene in The Spectacular Now. They join Jai Courtney (Peter), Zoe Kravitz as Christina, Ansel Elgort as Caleb Prior and Maggie Q.  Neil Burger (The Illusionist, Limitless) directs. Vanessa Taylor and Evan Daugherty wrote the script based on Veronica Roth's book. The film already has a scheduled release date of March 21, 2014. 

Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger, co-chairmen of Lionsgate, the studio behind the film are clearly hoping to have Divergent book fans on board with the films casting:

“Theo is not only an incredibly talented actor, he is also who we envisioned as Four when reading Veronica’s novel which has taken the world by storm. As we continue to develop the film, the studio remains committed to providing fans with a movie adaptation that stays as true to the book as possible and we are confident that we have done so with our selection of Shailene and Theo in the leading roles.”

“We took our time to find the right actor to fill the role of Four, and Theo is definitely the perfect fit,” said Feig. “Veronica has crafted a truly iconic character in Four and we cannot wait to begin production and bring him and this story to life for millions of fans around the world.”

 Divergent fans: Does the casting of Theo James as Four in Divergent work for you?