Characteristics of the leading lady are evolving. Female driven films continue to take over the small and big screen. The second installment of The Divergent Series, Insurgent holds a variety of characters both male and female, making it much easier for young adults to connect and identify with them, something that is clearly becoming more evident for the industry. Veronica Roth, who wrote the novels when she was twenty-one talked about the importance of diversity being reflected in the media, "Recently people have become aware that there's a craving for more diverse stories too in a lot of ways. And one of those ways is with more women... This character [Tris] is not some kind of enwound for womanhood. She's just a human being who's in a very difficult situation and rises above it. I think people gravitate toward that whether they're man or a woman."

In Insurgent, ‘Divergents are hunted throughout the city by Jeanine’s (Kate Winslet) brutal militias,’ including Eric (Jai Courtney) and Max (Mekhi Phifer). Divergents (as some of you may recall) are factionless, meaning they do not belong to a single faction - Abnegation (selfless), Amity (peaceful), Candor (honest), Dauntless (brave) and Erudite (intelligent) - but rather have attributes of multiple classifications. Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Four (Theo James) seek a way to stop Jeanine before she causes more damage. "The central story is about Tris, you know it's about her journey and her ascension but also her emotionality... I think the great thing about this is you have a character at the center of the film who is a superhero kind of in a way, in terms of, you know she's very powerful but at the same time she's not afraid to be scared and fearful or feminine and all those features... and also I think the men and the women are very much equal," expressed James.

While some of the actors agree that getting into character was a lot easier this time around, Shailene told us it was quite different for her, "Actually getting back into Tris was a lot more difficult than I had anticipated ‘cause I didn't take into account that I myself had grown over a year and then I figured going back into her would be simple because I would just go back into her mindset, but my personal mindset had progressed a year in evolution." The relationship between her character Tris and Four also matured. "I think the relationship is different in the sense of they, I think they have kind of a mutual respect for one another,” added James.

Another character who also developed is Caleb, Tris’ brother. "Not everyone's a super hero. Not everyone's an action hero. I think Caleb represents the intellectual," said Ansel Elgort. He commented on the thrill of working with new director Robert Schwentke, as he was able to work more on Caleb and give his character more depth. Like previous trilogies, new roles and direction are part of the process. "His energy is inherently different. As much as we like Neil, it's always nice to have someone to add something different," said James on working with Schwentke. 

Also joining the cast are Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer as Johanna and Naomi Watts as Evelyn, aka Four’s mother. “I just knew I was part of something special,” said Spencer. Meanwhile, Watts admits that while it’s not something she’s done much of, working in this film has been quite an experience, “The sense of adventure and fun and at the center of it a great theme, which is this struggle of identity. Who are we when we leave our families, who do we become, what are we capable of, and that's something that never leaves us that begins at that point in your life as you leave the nest and I don't think we stop wanting to explore that question."

Diversity has emancipated. Even the actors have proven to be a lot stronger. According to producer Doug Wick, during the audition process Shailene Woodley’s performance was so strong finding someone to balance her was challenging. "When we were casting the first movie and we were looking for the male lead and we did a lot of screen tests almost with every young guy who was set to be the next big movie star in town, In each of the screen tests, Shai blew them off the screen. She was so strong that she crumbled people and we were really worried because we had a start date and Theo was the first person that came in, who in his own way you felt like two complete equals.”

Insurgent hits theaters Friday, May 20^th.