Last night we attended an event for The Maze Runner at 92nd Street Y and our ears are still ringing. The turnout for the event was amazing, which leads us to believe that this film is about two seconds away from taking off and casting these actors into stardom (farther than some of them already are). 92Y got a great collection of the cast, along with author James Dashner, in the house last night for a panel discussion, screenings of exclusive clips, a Q&A, and even a fan meet and greet afterwards!
1. The film already has a huge following.
Like we said, there was an awesome turnout last night! The house was absolutely packed at 7:30 when the event started. The place was teeming with fans, who were beyond excited to see the exclusive clips and hear what the cast and author had to say.
2. In that following, there are a lot of screaming, happy (crying) teenage fans.
Last night, you couldn’t even hear Matt Patches (the panel moderator) announcing some of the cast members (poor Alex Flores) when Dylan O’Brien, Thomas Brodie Sangster, and Jacob Latimore were brought on stage. People were screaming so loud, it was a little frightening for us. We can’t imagine how the actors felt!
3. The Cast is already like family.
And it’s not in the corny way some actors try to say “we really bonded while filming this movie and everyone’s best friends now!” You could tell, just from watching them together on stage, that they work as a unit. Everyone gets along and laughs together. They were even finishing each other’s thoughts on stage.
4. There is room for growth for all of the characters.
Usually fans aren’t particularly fond of changing characters appearances, personalities, or importance in a film, but TMR gets it right. Jacob Latimore’s character, Jeff, is a much smaller part in the books, but director Wes Ball expanded on this character, which allowed for Latimore to integrate himself into the group and really develop his sense of who his character was, and why Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) entering the maze was important. We also see a great deal of change in the way the character Gally (Will Poulter) is portrayed.
5. James Dashner is super cool with changing things.
Cyndi Cappello/Hollywood.com
As a writer, Dashner said he knows that taking a book directly from the page and turning it into a movie just doesn’t work. You can’t argue the book’s creator on that.
6. Every change that was made, was a very thought out and deliberate process to make this film an incredible experience for fans.
GIPHY/20th Century Fox
Wes would call or email Dashner over every change he was making, it didn’t matter how big a change it was. Wes had this entire world in which the glade and the maze existed, but he wanted to make sure that it matched up with what the fans were expecting
7. The director has all of the book fans in mind.
GIPHY/20th Century Fox
Every change that was made, was made with fans in mind. Which we think is what will really make this film appealing to not only just the fans of the books, but audiences interested in this dystopian future genre that is bursting onto the scene. People love when their opinions are taken into consideration and they feed off of what they’re given. If Wes continues down this road with the potential sequel, we’re sure this series will reach a huge magnitude of people.
8. It’s an amazing cast.
Cyndi Cappello/Hollywood.com
This really is a great group of young, talented actors put together. Will Poulter (who we missed very much last night) as Gally is mind-blowing, because you’ve never seen a side of Will so fierce and aggressive before. Kaya Scodelario is the only female (Theresa) in this film, but refused to play it like that, because her cast mates never made her feel like a girl, and she wasn’t going to take that crap from any of the gladers. Chris Sheffeild’s banishment scene as Ben is enough to really make you take him seriously as an actor, because it’s intense and makes you feel a whole range of emotions.
9.The series has a really strong, talented lead actor.
Cyndi Cappello/Hollywood.com
Dylan O’Brien really wow’d us in this role. He’s brought Thomas, this very intelligent and inquisitive character, to life in ways we could have only dreamed of. As an actor, he’s quite clearly taken on the leadership role amongst his cast mates, that his character Thomas has done in the glade. This is a role completely outside of his other work, very unlike his character Stiles on Teen Wolf. We think he knocked it right out of the park
10. The sequel might already be in the works!
Rumors have been flying that 20th Century Fox was already putting the sequel, The Scorch Trials (we’re unsure if it will be the same name for the film) into motion. James Dashner was asked what some of his future plans were, and while he mentioned his upcoming books, when asked about any future things related to The Maze Runner, he replied “No comment,” with the biggest smile ever. You know that’s always a good sign.
