James Dashner’s Maze Runner books were a staple of the 2010s’ Young Adult dystopia boom, and the movies only added to the hype. Dylan O’Brien starred as Thomas in all three Maze Runner movies, starting with The Maze Runner, which was released in 2014, and ending with The Death Cure, which was released in 2018.
Since then, fans have questioned whether another Maze Runner movie would ever be made. Though the movies significantly changed certain plot points from the books, they were relatively successful adaptations of this beloved story, especially the casting, the choices they made for the characters, and the way they emotionally ripped our hearts out. Another movie set in WICKED’s manipulative dystopia would probably be welcomed with open arms, but will it ever happen?
Will there be another Maze Runner movie?
At the moment, there is no confirmation that another Maze Runner movie is in active development. However, rumors have been floating around the internet for a while, and it’s no surprise why. Fan trailers for another installment have populated YouTube, and the books and the movies are still beloved today. Additionally, in 2019, entertainment journalist Erik Davis was in attendance at CinemaCon, and one of his Twitter threads stated that Fox, now owned by Disney, was planning on producing more Maze Runner movies in the future.
Despite the delays suffered by The Maze Runner: The Death Cure—O’Brien endured a painful injury while performing a stunt on set, which brought production to a standstill—all three movies were still successful at the box office, as each installment was made on a relatively modest budget.
According to Box Office Mojo, The Maze Runner was produced for $34 million and made $348 million at the worldwide box office. Its sequel, The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, had a budget of $61 million and earned $312 million at the worldwide box office, and the final installment, The Death Cure, had a budget of $62 million and made $288 million globally. These may not be Marvel Cinematic Universe numbers, but the Maze Runner movies proved to be low-risk productions that produced relatively high rewards.
The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, and The Death Cure are not the only books set in the Maze Runner universe, either. James Dashner, the Maze Runner series’ author, also wrote two Maze Runner prequel novels: The Kill Order and The Fever Code. The Kill Order takes place after the first solar flares hit the Earth, which jumpstarted the apocalypse, brought forth the deadly virus, and eventually created the dystopian society featured in The Maze Runner trilogy. The Fever Code, on the other hand, focused specifically on the lives of the Gladers before their memories were wiped and they were sent into the maze by WICKED.
Dashner has also since begun writing a Maze Runner sequel series, known as The Maze Cutter series, which so far includes two novels: The Maze Cutter and The Godhead Complex. This series is set more than 70 years after the events of The Death Cure and follows the terrifying adventures of the Gladers’ descendants.
As such, there’s plenty of source material available to potentially produce a fourth Maze Runner-related movie, but again, at the time of writing, and despite the initial announcement in 2019, there have been no further developments. No writers or directors are currently attached, and Disney never announced an official release date for another Maze Runner movie. This doesn’t mean it can’t still technically happen, but the more time passes, the less likely it becomes.
(featured image: 20th Century Fox)
