It may not have been released in the UK just yet, but The Maze Runner has already won over studio execs… who have green lit a sequel for as early as 2015.
After an impressive debut weekend (making an astonishing $32.5 million), The Maze Runner has already begun to turn some heads. Sprinting past the competition, it nabbed the top spot ahead of Liam Neeson’s A Walk Among The Tombstones. And it’s not stopping there, as 20th Century Fox approves a sequel.
“A sequel to The Maze Runner will arrive in theaters next September,” revealed Variety. “The follow-up to the young adult hit, The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials races into theaters on Sept. 18, 2015.”
But expect Scorch Trials to appear in the UK on 10 October 2014.
Of course, that could just be the first of many… after all, author James Dashner – who penned the novel it was adapted from – has already written yet-another sequel, The Death Cure, which is thought could be adapted into another sequel at a later date.
It certainly sounds as though The Maze Runner has managed to pull a surprise hit out of the bag… and it’s already been lauded for escaping the familiar trappings of other Young Adult franchises.
“All of the elements came together in accomplishing something that no one ever tried by launching a young adult film like this in September,” said Chris Aronson, Fox’s domestic distribution chief. “We like to stand out whenever we can and we selected this release date in order to be the first event film of the fall.”
It certainly looks as though their canny decision has paid off… but with the movie still not released in the UK, you’ll have to wait a short while before finding out whether it’s any good.
Are you looking forward to The Maze Runner? Will this turn into the next big YA franchise? Let us know what you think in the comments below…
