Following the serious injury that befell lead star Dylan O’Brien on set, production on YA sequel The Maze Runner: The Death Cure is now set to resume come February, 2017.
Word comes by way of Deadline, confirming that the release of Wes Ball’s final entry into the series has been pushed an entire year to accommodate this unforeseen accident. That means The Death Cure won’t make a beeline for theaters until January 12, 2018, though given the extent of O’Brien’s injuries and the fact that the threequel was once delayed indefinitely, this is welcome news nonetheless.
Production initially ground to a halt earlier this year when the actor was said to have fractured either his cheekbone or orbital socket after an action set piece went awry. Fox had originally planned to assemble The Maze Runner crew much sooner following the accident – filming was due to recommence back in May – though the prolonged development coupled with juggling a variety of different schedules has resulted in this new, 2018 release date.
It also carves out a full three years between the release of The Death Cure and its immediate forebear, The Scorch Trials. But will this extended production have much of a bearing on the threequel’s box office performance? We’ll find out soon enough.
Fans of James Dashner’s novel series can take solace in the fact that The Maze Runner: The Death Cure will land in theaters on January 12, 2018 with a fully fit Dylan O’Brien in tow.