The Maze Runner (film)

Lore & Background

The story follows sixteen-year-old Thomas, portrayed by Dylan O'Brien, who awakens in a rusty elevator with no memory of who he is, only to learn that he has been delivered to the middle of an intricate maze, along with many other boys, who have been trying to find their way out of the ever-changing labyrinth—all while establishing a functioning society in what they call the Glade. Development began in January 2011 when Fox purchased the film rights to Dashner's novel with Gotham Group and Temple Hill Entertainment as producers and Catherine Hardwicke intended to direct. In 2012, Ball was hired to direct the film adaptation after presenting an animated short film titled Ruin with a similar tone and was initially considered for a feature-length adaptation. Principal photography began in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on May 13, 2013, and officially concluded on July 12, 2013.

Reader's Guide

The Maze Runner was released on September 19, 2014, in the United States by 20th Century Fox. The film received positive reviews, with praise for Ball's direction, the performances and the film's tone. Critics considered it to be better than most young adult book-to-film adaptations. The film was first at the box office in its opening weekend, grossing $32.5 million, making it the seventh-highest-grossing debut in September. The film earned $348 million worldwide at the box office, against its budget of $34 million. Two sequels, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials and Maze Runner: The Death Cure, were released in 2015 and 2018. The film's success established Wes Ball as a director and launched a film series that continued the story of Thomas and the other Gladers.

Did You Know?

• Dylan O'Brien was initially rejected for the lead role by director Wes Ball due to his 'Teen Wolf hair'.
• Blake Cooper was cast as Chuck after persistently contacting Wes Ball via Twitter.
• The Grievers were designed by Ken Barthelmey, inspired by spiders, coconut crabs, caterpillars and piranhas.
• The film grossed $348 million worldwide against a budget of $34 million.

Narrative & World-Building

The film centers on a sixteen-year-old boy who surfaces from a rusty underground elevator with no recollection of his identity. He is greeted by a community of male teenagers living in a grassy enclosure they call the Glade, surrounded by towering stone walls. These Gladers have organized themselves into a rudimentary society with specialized roles, and their sole hope of escape lies in a vast, ever-shifting labyrinth that encircles their home. During daylight hours, designated Runners venture into the maze searching for an exit, but must return before the gate seals at sunset. At night, biomechanical spider-like creatures called Grievers roam the passages. The boy eventually recalls his name—Thomas—after a confrontation with another Glader named Gally. As the story unfolds, Thomas discovers that a girl named Teresa, whom he cannot remember, once knew him, and that the entire operation was orchestrated by the World Catastrophe Killzone Department as a test to find a cure for a devastating Flare virus. The narrative culminates with the survivors being escorted to a helicopter flying over a desert wasteland, only to learn the experiment has merely entered its second phase.

Development & Production Journey

The path to bringing Dashner's 2009 novel to the screen began in early 2011, when 20th Century Fox secured the adaptation rights with Gotham Group and Temple Hill Entertainment serving as producers. Catherine Hardwicke was initially attached to helm the project, but by August 2012, Wes Ball stepped into the director's chair. Ball, who was making his feature directorial debut, had caught the studio's attention with an animated short called Ruin, a post-apocalyptic science fiction piece whose tone aligned with the source material. Principal photography took place in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, running from May 13 to July 12, 2013—a roughly two-month shoot. The screenplay was a collaborative effort among Noah Oppenheim, Grant Pierce Myers, and T. S. Nowlin. The finished film was released in the United States on September 19, 2014, distributed by 20th Century Fox, marking the first entry in what would become a multi-film franchise.

Critical Reception & Commercial Performance

Upon its September 2014 release, The Maze Runner earned broadly positive critical attention. Reviewers singled out Wes Ball's direction, the ensemble performances, and the film's overall tone as standout qualities. Notably, critics positioned it favorably against the broader landscape of young adult book-to-film adaptations, suggesting it surpassed the typical quality of that genre. At the box office, the film debuted at number one in its opening weekend, collecting $32.5 million—a figure that made it the seventh-highest-grossing September debut at that time. Over its full theatrical run, the film accumulated $348 million in worldwide revenue against a production budget of just $34 million, representing a substantial financial return. The strong critical and commercial reception together validated the adaptation and set the stage for the franchise to expand beyond its first installment.

Franchise Legacy & Sequels

As the first installment in The Maze Runner film series, the 2014 original established the narrative and visual framework for two subsequent entries. The direct sequel, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, arrived in 2015, continuing the story of Thomas and the surviving Gladers as they navigate the post-maze world. The trilogy concluded with Maze Runner: The Death Cure, released in 2018. The original film's plot deliberately set up these continuations: the final scenes reveal that the WCKD scientists, including director Ava Paige, were never truly dead, and that the survivors' escape was merely the transition into Phase Two of the experiment. This cliffhanger structure, combined with the film's commercial success of $348 million worldwide on a $34 million budget, ensured the franchise's continuation. The ensemble cast—Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, and Patricia Clarkson—carried their characters forward into the sequels, cementing The Maze Runner as a notable young adult franchise in the mid-2010s.