20th Century Fox
In a year of big blockbusters that are adapted from young adult novels, The Maze Runner has so far seemed like the Cinderella to its older stepsisters Divergent and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1. Except this is real life (well, it’s as real as movies about dystopian post-apocalyptic societies can be) and we’re more than a little worried about The Maze Runner.
While Divergent and Mockingjay Part 1 are slotted for big release dates in March and November respectively, The Maze Runner was pushed back to premiere Sept. 19, which is not a great sign. Though everyone involved with the film urged fans that this delay only gives them more time to promote the movie, August and September are not the most opimistic months in Hollywood. (Remember, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones opened in August last year, and we all recall how that turned out — horribly.)
Additionally, there hasn’t been as much buzz around The Maze Runner as there has been for Divergent and Mockingjay Part 1. It’s possible that The Maze Runner could be overshadowed by the other big releases this year — although, we’ll concede it’s still a bit early to make a definite prediction.
One saving grace of The Maze Runner, though, is the cast of the film. Dylan O’Brien, who has portrayed the lovable Stiles Stilinski on Teen Wolf, heads the cast. He’s joined by Will Poulter (We’re the Millers), Kaya Scodelario (Skins), and Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Game of Thrones). If book fans have faith in any aspect of the adaptation, it should be in this cast.
However, despite the talent in front of the camera, the main players behind the scenes are relatively inexperienced. The director Wes Ball has more art designing credits to his name than directing credits. The team of scriptwriters, which includes author James Dashner, also has very little experience. With such a green crew, fans definitely have cause to be worried.
Perhaps all these anxieties are for nothing. Maybe The Maze Runner will blow Divergent and Mockingjay Part 1 out of the water. (Hey, we can dream!) But we’ll have to wait until September to know for sure. Until then, we’ll be wringing our hands like a worried parent.
