Between new promos for Spider-Man: Homecoming, Wonder Woman and New Line’s big-screen rendition of It, last night’s MTV Awards ceremony presented a delightful treasure trove of new footage for some of 2017’s biggest tentpoles. And though it doesn’t quite fit the bill of a summer blockbuster – unforeseen setbacks and a set accident involving Dylan O’Brien forced Wes Ball’s YA threequel to relocate to 2018 – 20th Century Fox’s Maze Runner: The Death Cure unveiled a brand new featurette in which a fully-recovered O’Brien invites you to take a tour of the sci-fi set.
Those familiar James Dashner’s dystopian novel series ought to recognize those sterile laboratories, as they belong to the nefarious conglomerate known as WICKED (World In Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department). Following up on both The Maze Runner and its so-so sequel, Scorch Trials, The Death Cure is all set to bring the curtain down on 20th Century Fox’s trilogy, and it’ll do so in the form of a single, effects-laden actioner – unlike, say, The Hunger Games, which had its grand finale split in two.
At the heart of that story is O’Brien’s Thomas, who headlines an all-star cast comprised of Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki Hong Lee, Giancarlo Esposito, Aidan Gillen, Barry Pepper, Will Poulter and Patricia Clarkson.
It’s the end of the line. WICKED has taken everything from Thomas: his life, his memories, and now his only friends—the Gladers. But it’s finally over. The trials are complete, after one final test. Will anyone survive? What WICKED doesn’t know is that Thomas remembers far more than they think. And it’s enough to prove that he can’t believe a word of what they say. The truth will be terrifying. Thomas beat the Maze. He survived the Scorch. He’ll risk anything to save his friends. But the truth might be what ends it all. The time for lies is over.
Once penciled in for early 2017, Maze Runner: The Death Cure will make a beeline for theaters on February 9th, 2018. Other movies crammed into that same corridor include Shane Black’s R-rated reboot of The Predator and Pacific Rim: Uprising, the long-brewing sequel that looks set to stage a Kaiju resurgence in the most spectacular way imaginable.