Shailene Woodley and Theo James’ Allegiant to be Split in Two; Recruits The Maze Runner Writer Noah Oppenheim

The third installment of the "Divergent" franchise, starring Shailene Woodley and Theo James, has reportedly recruited "The Maze Runner's" Noah Oppenheim as the new "Allegiant" screenwriter.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the experienced screenwriter of the young adult genre and Emmy-winning TV producer Noah Oppenheim is adapting Veronica Roth's third novel, "Allegiant," for film.

Oppenheim's latest screenplay is Fox's "The Maze Runner," slated for a September 2014 release, a movie adaptation from a young adult post-apocalyptic novel by James Dashner, which gives the Harvard graduate writer and producer an edge and experience in the genre.

Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher of Red Wagon Entertainment and Pouya Shabazian are said to be producing all "Divergent" films.

And while Veronica Roth has been previously not too sure whether "Allegiant" is going to be split into two parts, THR confirmed that Noah Oppenheim has been signed to write the third film in the "Divergent" franchise, "Allegiant: Part 1."

Roth told moviepilot in a previous interview that if ever "Allegiant" gets to be split into two parts, "there's some natural breaking point" in the book that may be where "Allegiant: Part 1" is going to end, adding that she is excited to find out where exactly the story of the third film will stop.

Both "Allegiant" films are reportedly already scheduled for release. "Allegiant: Part 1" is set to hit theatres on March 16, 2016 and Part 2 hits the big screens on March 24, 2017.

"Because the films are scheduled just one year apart from each other, it makes sense that producers would want to get a writer working on Allegiant while Insurgent is still shooting," THR reported.

Stars of the "Divergent" franchise, Shailene Woodley and Theo James are both reprising their roles as Tris and Four, respectively, in the "Divergent" sequel "Insurgent." Other stars returning to reprise their roles are Ansel Elgort, Kate Winslet, Miles Teller, Jai Courtney and Zoe Kravitz.

Previously announced new additions to the "Insurgent" cast are Naomi Watts, Daniel Dae Kim, Suki Waterhouse, Olivia Spencer, Jonny Weston, Rosa Salazar and Australian actor Keiynan Lonsdale.

The Robert Schwentke film "Insurgent," which is reportedly now filming in Atlanta, is set to hit theatres on March 20, 2015.