The Maze Runner (film)

Wes Ball, The Maze Runner (2014) Film director

The Maze Runner is a 2014 American dystopian science fiction action thriller film directed by Wes Ball, in his directorial debut, based on James Dashner's 2009 novel of the same name. The film is the first installment in The Maze Runner film series and was produced by Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen, and Lee Stollman with a screenplay by Noah Oppenheim, Grant Pierce Myers, and T.S. Nowlin. The film stars Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Aml Ameen, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki Hong Lee, Will Poulter, and Patricia Clarkson. The story follows sixteen-year-old Thomas, portrayed by O'Brien, who awakens in a rusty elevator with no memory of who he is, only to learn he's been delivered to the middle of an intricate maze, along with a large number of other boys, who have been trying to find their way out of the ever-changing labyrinth — all while establishing a functioning society in what they call the Glade.

Development of The Maze Runner began in January 2011 when Fox purchased the film rights to Dashner's novel with film studios Temple Hill Entertainment and TSG Entertainment. Principal photography began in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on May 13, 2013 and officially concluded on July 12, 2013.

The Maze Runner
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Wes Ball
Screenplay by	Noah Oppenheim Grant Pierce Myers T.S. Nowlin
Produced by	Ellen Goldsmith-Vein Wyck Godfrey Marty Bowen Lee Stollman
Starring	Dylan O'Brien Kaya Scodelario Thomas Brodie-Sangster Will Poulter Patricia Clarkson
Cinematography	Enrique Chediak
Edited by	Dan Zimmerman
Music by	John Paesano
Production companies	Gotham Group Temple Hill Entertainment TSG Entertainment
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	September 19, 2014 (2014-09-19) (United States)
Running time	113 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$34 million
Box office	$348.3 million

The Maze Runner was released on September 19, 2014 in the United States by 20th Century Fox. Critics considered it to be better than most young adult book-to-film adaptations. The film topped the box-office during its opening weekend with a $32.5 million debut, making it the seventh-highest grossing debut in September. The film earned over $348 million worldwide at the box-office, against its budget of $34 million.

A sequel, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, was released on September 18, 2015 in the United States. A third and final film, Maze Runner: The Death Cure, was released on January 26, 2018.

Plot

A teenager wakes up inside an underground elevator with no memory of his identity. A group of male youths greet him in a large grassy area called the "Glade" enclosed by tall stone walls. The boys ("Gladers") have formed a rudimentary society, with each assuming specialized tasks. Their leader, Alby, says that every boy eventually recalls his name but not his past. The boy learns that a vast Maze surrounding them may be the only way out. During the day, designated Runners search the Maze for an escape route, returning before nightfall when the entrance closes. No one has ever survived a night in the Maze.

While in a competition with another boy named Gally, the boy suddenly remembers his name: Thomas. The next day, he is attacked by Ben, a Runner who has been stung and left delirious by a Griever – deadly techno-organic creatures that roam the Maze at night. Ben is forced into the Maze and left to die, as there is no cure for his condition. Alby and Minho, the lead Runner, later retrace Ben's steps inside the Maze. Minho reappears at dusk dragging Alby, who is stung, but they are unable to reach the closing entrance in time. Thomas runs into the Maze to help, leaving all three trapped. Thomas lures a Griever into a closing passageway, causing it to be crushed. The trio manages to survive the night, returning the next morning.

The first-ever girl arrives in the elevator, with a note saying that she is the last one to enter the Glade. She recognizes Thomas, though he cannot remember her. Thomas, Minho, Frypan, Winston, and Zart enter the Maze, locate the Griever corpse, and remove a beeping mechanical device from inside it. Gally claims Thomas has jeopardized the fragile peace between the youths and the Grievers and wants him punished, but Newt, the group's second-in-command, instead designates Thomas as a Runner. Minho shows Thomas a hand-constructed model of the Maze based on previous exploration. The Maze's numbered sections open and close in a regular sequence. Thomas realizes that the device corresponds to a section within the Maze.

The girl, Teresa, has two syringes filled with an unknown substance. One is used on Alby, and he recovers from the Griever sting. Minho and Thomas venture back into the Maze with the device and discover a possible exit. A laser then scans the two, and the exit closes. Thomas and Minho start to run away as traps activated by lasers nearly kill them. That night, the Maze entrance does not close while others open, letting Grievers pour in. A massacre ensues as the Gladers struggle to fight back or hide. Alby, Zart, Clint, and several others are killed.

Afterwards, Gally punches Thomas and blames him for everything that happened. Thomas, who has been having disconnected memory flashes since arriving, stabs himself with a severed Griever stinger in an attempt to revive his memory. The others inject him with the last anti-venom. Unconscious, he recalls that he and Teresa worked for the organization that created the Maze, W.C.K.D.; the boys unknowingly have been test subjects for an experiment. Thomas awakens and shares this information with Newt, Minho, Chuck, and Teresa. Thomas then reveals himself and Teresa, confessing that they worked with W.C.K.D. and studied the boys for years.

Meanwhile, Gally has taken command and intends to sacrifice Thomas and Teresa to the Grievers to restore peace. However, several Gladers form a group and free them. They then approach the Maze in an attempt to find an escape, while Gally and a few others refuse to leave. Fighting Grievers as they go, Jeff and several other Gladers are killed. The Gladers eventually enter a laboratory strewn with corpses. In a video recording, a woman named Ava Paige explains that the planet has been devastated by a massive solar flare, followed by a pandemic of a deadly virus called the Flare. The teens learn that they were part of an experiment studying for a cure. Paige is seen shooting herself on the screen as the lab is attacked by armed men.

Gally suddenly appears with a gun. Having been stung by a Griever, he insists they must stay in the Maze and aims at Thomas, but is pierced through the chest by Minho's spear, but not before Chuck is fatally shot. Masked armed men then rush in and take the rest of the group to a helicopter. It flies over a vast desert wasteland and approaches a ruined city. The scene ends with the supposedly-dead scientists meeting in a room. Paige notes that the experiment is successful; the survivors are now entering Phase Two.

Character Summaries/Analyses

Thomas (played by Dylan O'Brien): Thomas, nicknamed “Greenie” by the other members living in the Glade, is the protagonist, or main character, in the movie The Maze Runner (2014). In the beginning scene of the movie, he is the last male to enter the Glade (inside an elevator called “The Box”). Thomas is the only character in the story that is different from all the other characters: he is a curious person, questions everything that happens around him, and is not afraid to go beyond the norms. These traits that Thomas possess is what leads the Gladers to find their first clue in over three years in their quest to escape the maze, a metal device inside a Griever with the number “7” on it labeled W.C.K.D. Thomas’s character and personality changes as the story progresses, which classifies him as a dynamic character. In the beginning of the story, Thomas is very confused and scared, but as the story progresses, Thomas becomes a brave leader and more knowledgeable about the Glade and how it works. Towards the middle and end of the story, it is learned that Thomas along with Teresa once worked with W.C.K.D and have studied the boys in the Glade for years but ended up getting sent into the Glade.

Teresa (played by Kaya Scodelario): Teresa is the last person but is also first and only female ever to enter the Glade. She is the only person to remember her and another person’s name (Thomas) when first entering the Glade. When she first entered in The Box, she carried a note saying, “She’s the last one, EVER” along with two syringes labeled with “W.C.K.D,” one which was used on Alby who later died, and Thomas after he stabbed himself with the Griever needle. Similar to Thomas, at first, Teresa was scared and confused when she first entered the Glade, but as the story progresses, she becomes braver and a team player. Her personality/character change throughout the story classifies her as a dynamic character.

Newt (played by Thomas Brodie-Sangster): Newt is the second-in-charge of the Gladers and runners. He is in charge whenever Alby is absent or busy. Like most of the other Gladers, Newt is also very anxious to escape the maze as well, but the audience never sees him express these thoughts often throughout the story. He understands that Thomas broke the rules that were set out, however, he doesn’t mind Thomas’s actions and even convinces him to “finish what [Thomas] started” (The Maze Runner). He believes that hard work is the key to success. Newt promotes Thomas to a runner after Thomas survived a night in the maze with Minho and Alby. Newt’s overall personality/character of being a humble, motivational leader does not change throughout the whole movie, which classifies him as a static character.

Minho (played by Ki Hong Lee): Minho is the lead runner and is also one of the main protagonists of the story. He is very serious about his role in the community: to explore the maze and find a way out. For the three years that Minho has been in the Glade, he along with the group of other runners were able to trace a map of what the maze looks like. He likes how Thomas is courageous and brave and supports the decision of making Thomas a runner. Throughout the story, Minho’s viewpoint of Thomas changes after he was able to do what Minho had been unable to do over the past three years, however, Minho’s overall personality does not change. He is brave, takes his job very seriously, and is also eager to escape the Glade, classifying him as a static character as well.

Gally (played by Will Poulter): Contrary to Thomas, Gally is the antagonist, or the “obstacle” that interferes with Thomas’s ambitions of helping the Gladers escape the Glade throughout the movie. He acts as a foil to Thomas, meaning that his personal characteristics (behaviors, attitude, personalities, etc.) are completely opposite of what Thomas is like to allow the audience to learn more about Thomas and his character. He (Gally) is a stubborn, unwilling to change, and afraid of the unknown type of person, which defines him as a static character. Gally's personality also simultaneously allows the audience to better see how Thomas is the complete opposite and know more about Thomas’s personality. Gally does not want the lifestyle in the Glade to change after living there for three years. He consistently mentions the rules that were set out by the guys and how “the rules were the only thing that has kept [everyone] together” (The Maze Runner). In addition, Gally is also seen to be conflicted with himself at various moments in the movie, for example, in the final scene when Gally is holding a gun straight at Thomas in the lab room (outside of the maze). In the beginning and middle of the movie, Gally is known for wanting everyone in the Glade to stay in the Glade for the rest of their lives and does everything he can to accomplish his wish. He fails to keep most of the Gladers back in the Glade, however, in the end, Gally himself has left, which is contradicting to what he said in previous scenes. This contradicting personality Gally possesses depicts him as a round character in addition to being the antagonist, a foil to Thomas, and a static character.

Alby (played by Aml Ameen): Alby is the leader of all the Gladers and runners that live in the Glade. He was the first person to be sent in and live in the Glade. Like every other Glader in the community, he did not remember a single thing when he first entered the Glade but remembered his name after two or three days being there. He goes through “The Changing” after surviving being stung by a Griever and realizes how cruel the world outside of the maze really is. A minor character who undergoes a slight personality change (Alby is calm and confident in the beginning of the movie, however, he becomes afraid of the world outside of the maze and steps down as being the leader of the Gladers), Alby is classified as a minor dynamic character.

Chuck (played by Blake Cooper): Chuck is the youngest Glader out of all the other characters. He is naïve and is Thomas’s first and closest friend. Chuck has a little stone figure which he claims he got from his parents. Near the end of the movie, Chuck jumps in front of Thomas to save his life and ended up dying, which causes Thomas to become very emotional. This scene shows how close their friendship was and that the little stone figure serves as a symbol of that friendship. Chuck does not appear in many scenes throughout the movie, however, he is noted for his unchanging naivety and friendliness, making him a flat and static character.

Ava Paige (played by Patricia Clarkson): Dr. Ava Paige is the director of operations of the organization called World Catastrophe Killzone Department, or W.C.K.D. She first appears in the story when the Gladers make it to the end of the maze and press the button to project the hologram. She is a minor character, however, her presence in the story is important because she allows for the audience to understand what was going on in the outside world and the reason why the Gladers were put in the maze: to study the brain activity of the younger generation as to why some of them are immune to a virus called “the flare.”

Ben (played by Chris Sheffield): Ben is one of the runners and is also the first character in the movie to get stung by a Griever. Like Dr. Ava Paige, he is a minor character, however, his role is significant to the plot of the story because it allows for the audience to know what will happen to someone who is stung by a Griever (referred to as “The Changing” by the Gladers). He is later banished and is left to die in the maze.

Fry Pan (played by Dexter Darden): Fry Pan, sometimes referred to as Fry, is one of the other minor characters who is known as “the keeper of the cooks.” He is in charge of cooking the food for the Gladers to eat.

Themes

Teamwork: Teamwork is a common and one of the most important themes that is present throughout The Maze Runner. One example of this theme is highly present when Thomas along with a group of the other Gladers work together when escaping the maze (the climax of the movie). Teresa and Chuck are at the door entering the code to unlock it while Thomas and the other group of Gladers hold back the Grievers with their spears. If one of the characters were to attempt escaping the maze alone, he/she would most likely be killed by the Grievers before he/she even had the chance to arrive at the Griever’s hideout. Another example of teamwork is during the beginning of the movie, where each character in the community has a particular role they are responsible for. There are characters who are responsible for finding food, cooking food, exploring the maze, building homes, etc. This sense of order and teamwork in the community is what has allowed for the characters to successfully survive life in the Glade for over three years.

Trust: Trust is another very important theme that is present in many parts of the movie. Not only do the Gladers need to work together, they must trust each other as well to survive. For example, when Thomas mentions to the group how the device that he discovered inside a Griever might be a significant clue that would lead the Gladers out of the maze, Newt and Minho trust Thomas and even allow him [Thomas] to explore the maze again with Minho to discover the secrets of the device. Without the trust from Newt, the others would probably not have trusted Thomas as much as they did and maybe everyone would have been stuck in the Glade for the rest of their lives because Thomas would not be able to do anything if nobody believed him. Another example of trust is when Newt, Teresa, Minho, Chuck and another couple Gladers trust Thomas to lead them home (out of the maze) when Gally decided to form a separate group supporting the idea of staying in the Glade for the rest of their lives. What Thomas did during the time period he was in the Glade built trust among many of the members in the community that he could be the one to lead everyone out of the maze, and so Thomas received a lot of support.

Friendship: Friendship is crucial for the characters living in the Glade. Friends provide each other support, care, and trust, all of which are necessary to survive in the Glade. An example of the friendship theme is when Thomas befriends Chuck, one of his first and closest friends. Thomas and Chuck provide each other emotional support when either one of the two are feeling down. Just simply talking to each other helps them feel better. Eventually, Thomas befriends Newt, Minho, Teresa and a great amount of the other Gladers as the story moves along, and overtime, as Thomas gains more friends, he establishes himself as one of the leaders of the community as he gains more support and trust among the community to lead them out of the maze.

Heroism/Bravery: Heroism is a theme that is most notable in Thomas’s personality. Although he is very new to the Glade, his brave and heroic personality is what allows for the Gladers to successfully escape out of the maze. Thomas is the first person of all the Gladers to challenge and break the rules set in place in the community, which can be seen as an act of bravery. An example of this is when Thomas lunges into the maze at night attempting to help Minho and Alby make it back to the Glade before the doors close. While he is in the maze, Thomas is brave enough to challenge a Griever and even kill it. Thomas broke the rules by going into the maze at night when the doors closed, however, he was able to save Minho and Alby (two extremely important members who had significant roles in the community) from getting killed in the maze. He is willing to try new things and is not afraid of the unknown, unlike most of the other members in the community, which made it possible for the other Gladers to successfully escape the maze.

Production

Development

In an interview with Collider, director Wes Ball stated he had made a 3D computer-animated science fiction post-apocalyptic short film, titled Ruin, which he intended to use in order to gain access to Hollywood. He presented the short in 3D to 20th Century Fox. The studio initially considered a film adaptation of the short film, as it had the same tone of The Maze Runner novel they already planned to bring to the screen. Ball was then offered the chance to direct the novel adaptation.

Pre-production

Creature designer Ken Barthelmey designed the monsters called Grievers for the film.

Casting

For the role of Teresa, Kaya Scodelario was Ball's first choice as she was "fantastic" and because he loved her in the TV show Skins. Dylan O'Brien, the lead role, was initially rejected by Ball. Ball recounts, "Dylan was actually... I saw him early on, very early on and I overlooked him. It was a big learning experience there, because I overlooked him because of his hair. He had Teen Wolf hair and I couldn't see past that and so we were looking for our Thomas and it's a tough role to make, because he comes in as a boy and he leaves as a man, so it can't be like this badass action star that comes into this movie. It's about vulnerability up front and then he comes out of it and comes into his own and then the next movies are about the leader that emerges from the group. So finally Fox says 'We just did this movie, The Internship. There's this kid that's in this thing. He's like 20 years old. We think he's kind of got something.' So I watched his tape and was like 'Wait a minute, I've seen this kid before.' I looked him up online and there was one picture of him with a totally shaved head and it's this sweet vulnerable looking kid and I was like 'Whoa, interesting.' I said, 'Wait a minute, he's just so familiar' and I looked back at my old audition tapes, which we had thousands of, and there's Dylan. That guy I said 'No, definitely not him.' So we brought him back in and we started to talk with him and I'm like 'he's the coolest dude ever.'" Blake Cooper entered the film via Twitter. Ball revealed a lot on Twitter, and many kids wanted to be Chuck. Cooper constantly bugged Ball, until Ball told him to give his tape to his casting director, and Ball was impressed by Cooper's tape and cast him.

Filming

Principal photography started in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on May 13, 2013, and officially ended on July 12, 2013.

Post-production

The film was completed in June 2014.

Soundtrack

Untitled

Composed by John Paesano, the soundtrack consists of 21 tracks and was released on September 16, 2014.

Release

The film was originally set to be released on February 14, 2014. On October 5, 2013, the film was pushed back. IMAX theaters released the film on September 19, 2014.

Marketing

Kaya Scodelario and Dylan O'Brien at a panel for the film at San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2014

Eleven character cards for the film were released in July 2013. Starting in January 2014, director Wes Ball released one image from the film once a week, leading up to the film's first trailer release on March 17, 2014. A viral marketing campaign launched by 20th Century Fox began on April 16, 2014. The campaign is a website featuring the main characters while focusing on W.C.K.D, an organization in Dashner's novel series of the same name. The website has the domain wckdisgood.com.

On June 26, 2014, Dylan O'Brien tweeted that the original The Maze Runner book would be re-released with a new book cover based on the film's poster. On July 29, 2014, the second trailer for the film was released exclusively on Yahoo! Movies.

The popularity of the film has resulted in many fan projects, the most prominent being Maze Runner Chat, a podcast featuring news discussions and occasional cast interviews. The podcast is produced by MazeRunnerFans.com, a popular fan website for the series.

Home media

The Maze Runner was released on Region 1 DVD and Blu-ray combo pack December 16, 2014. The combo pack includes two hours of bonus features and extras as well as an exclusive comic book.

Reception

Box office

The film grossed $102,427,862 in North America and more than $245.8 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $348.3 million

Prior to its release in the U.S. and Canada, box office analysts predicted the film would be a box office success, citing effective marketing, good word-of-mouth publicity and a solid release date. Preliminary reports predicted the film would open with takings of over $30–32 million in North America. According to movie ticket sale website Fandango, The Maze Runner was the biggest seller accounting for more than 50% of early tickets sales. The film was released on September 19, 2014 in the United States and Canada across 3,604 locations and over 350 IMAX theaters. It earned $1.1 million from Thursday night shows, and $11.25 million on its opening day. It topped the box office on its opening weekend with $32.5 million of which 9% of the gross came from IMAX theaters. Its opening weekend gross is the seventh-highest for a film released in September, and the 18th highest for a young-adult book adaptation. The film earned a total of $102,272,088 at the North American box office becoming the twenty sixth highest-grossing film of 2014 in the U.S. and Canada.

Outside North America, the film debuted in five countries a week prior to its North American release and earned a total of $8.3 million. The film had a similar success overseas during its wide opening second weekend earning $38 million from 7,547 screens in 51 markets. It opened in South Korea with $5.5 million which is higher than the openings of The Hunger Games and Divergent, the UK, Ireland and Malta with $3.4 million behind Gone Girl, and China with $14.58 million behind Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Other high openings were witnessed in Russia and the CIS ($5.75 million), France ($5.2 million), Australia ($3.4 million), Mexico ($2.6 million), Taiwan ($2.2 million) and Brazil ($2 million).

It became the third highest-grossing film of all time in Malaysia for Fox (behind Avatar and X-Men: Days of Future Past).

Critical response

The Wall Street Journal said critics considered the film better than most young adult book-to-film adaptations due to its "strong performances and a creepy, mysterious atmosphere". Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 65% based on 160 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The site's consensus states: "With strong acting, a solid premise, and a refreshingly dark approach to its dystopian setting, The Maze Runner stands out from the crowded field of YA sci-fi adventures". Metacritic gives the film a score of 57 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.

Rafer Guzman of Newsday gave the film a three out of four and described it as "solid, well crafted and entertaining". Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com said she found the film intriguing, writing that "it tells us a story we think we've heard countless times before but with a refreshingly different tone and degree of detail". The Seattle Times's Soren Anderson said the film was "vastly superior to the book that inspired it" and gave it a score of 3/4. Tony Hicks of the San Jose Mercury News was "hooked by the combination of fine acting, intriguing premise and riveting scenery". Matthew Toomey of ABC Radio Brisbane gave the film a grade of A−, giving praise to its intriguing premise saying that "it held [his] attention for its full two hour running time". Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter said it was "consistently engaging", and Ella Taylor of Variety wrote "as world-creation YA pictures go, The Maze Runner feels refreshingly low-tech and properly story-driven".

Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post said "The Maze Runner unravels a few mysteries, but it spins even more", giving it a 3/4. Stephen Whitty of the Newark Star-Ledger wrote "it does leave you wanting to see the next installment. And that's one special effect that very few YA movies ever pull off". Isaac Feldberg of We Got This Covered awarded the film 8/10 stars, calling it "dark, dangerous and uncommonly thrilling", while extolling it as "one of the most engaging YA adaptations to hit theaters in quite some time." Rick Bentley of the Fresno Bee praised Wes Ball's direction, saying that he "created balance between a thin but solid script and first-rate action – and he doesn't waste a frame doing it". Bill Zwecker of the Chicago Sun-Times called it "a well-acted and intelligent thriller/futuristic sci-fi romp". Bilge Ebiri of New York magazine said he "was quite riveted". Michael Sragow of the Orange County Register gave it a grade of "B" and said, "Ball is deft, though, at evoking claustrophobia of every kind, whether in the open-air prison of the Glade or the actual tight spaces of the Maze. And he elicits a hair-trigger performance from O'Brien".

Claudia Puig of USA Today said "a sci-fi thriller set in a vaguely post-apocalyptic future must create a fully drawn universe to thoroughly captivate the viewer. But Maze Runner feels only partially formed", giving it a score of 2/4. Time magazine's Richard Corliss said "like Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit-tentialism, but more crowded and with the musk of bottled-up testosterone". Wesley Morris of the website Grantland said "I think I have a touch of apocalepsy – excessive sleepiness caused by prolonged exposure to three and four-part series in which adolescents rebel against oppressive governments represented by esteemed actors". Steven Rea of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the film a 2.5 out of 4 rating and said "it's bleak business, and as it hurries toward its explosive, expository conclusion, the film becomes nonsensical, too". Film critic Ethan Gilsdorf of The Boston Globe said "teens should eat up this fantasy's scenery-chewing angst and doom, and the hopeful tale of survival and empowerment (to be continued in the inevitable sequel or sequels)".

Accolades

List of awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipients	Result
2014	IFMCA Awards	Best Original Score for an Action/Adventure/Thriller Film	John Paesano	Nominated
2015	MTV Movie Awards	Best Scared-As-S**t Performance	Dylan O'Brien	Nominated
		Best Breakthrough Performance		Won
		Best Hero		Won
		Best Fight	Dylan O'Brien and Will Poulter	Won
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actor: Action/Adventure	Dylan O'Brien	Nominated
		Choice Movie Actress: Action/Adventure	Kaya Scodelario	Nominated
		Choice Movie: Action/Adventure		Nominated
		Choice Movie: Breakout Star	Thomas Brodie-Sangster	Nominated
		Choice Movie: Chemistry	Dylan O'Brien and Thomas Brodie-Sangster	Nominated
2016	Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Book	James Dashner	Nominated

Sequels

Main articles: Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials and Maze Runner: The Death Cure

On October 11, 2013, it was reported that Twentieth Century Fox had acquired the rights to the second book, The Scorch Trials. A screenplay was written by T. S. Nowlin, with director Wes Ball supervising the scriptwriting. The sequel was released on September 18, 2015. On July 25, 2014, Ball announced at San Diego Comic-Con International that filming for the sequel would commence sometime between March and May 2015, should The Maze Runner become a success when it hits the theaters. However, two weeks prior to the film's release 20th Century Fox decided to move ahead with the sequel and pre-production began in early September 2014 in New Mexico. Cast members Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki-Hong Lee and Patricia Clarkson reprised their roles for the sequel, as did director Wes Ball. It was announced that Aidan Gillen would be joining the film to play Janson ("Rat-Man"), as had Rosa Salazar who portrayed Brenda, Jacob Lofland who starred as Aris Jones, and Giancarlo Esposito who played Jorge Gallaraga.

A second sequel, Maze Runner: The Death Cure was released on January 26, 2018.

References

Bernardo, Karen. "Types of Characters in Fiction". Learn.Lexiconic.Net. Lexiconic Resources. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
Oppenheim, Noah; Myers, Grant Pierce; Nowlin, T.S; Dashner, James. "The Maze Runner (2014)". IMDb.com. IMDb. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
"Maze Runner (Film Series)". Wikipedia.org. Wikipedia. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
Ball, Wes. "The Maze Runner". Google Movies and TV. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
"Theme". Literarydevices.net. Literary Devices. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
Butler, Jeremy. "Classical Narrative Structure: Exposition, Climax, Resolution". Criticalcommons.org. Critical Commons. Retrieved April 8, 2018.

External links

• Official website
• The Maze Runner at IMDb
• The Maze Runner at Box Office Mojo
• The Maze Runner at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Maze Runner at Metacritic