YA fantasy and science fiction books have been wildly profitable for many years, however the style went supernova with the publication of J.Okay. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Thinker’s Stone” in 1997. All of a sudden, authors of youth-skewing novels started cranking out their very own collection about specifically gifted youngsters happening epic adventures of self-discovery. When these books turned runaway bestsellers, Hollywood got here calling, and we have been awash in YA film variations ever since.
It goes with out saying that many of those movie collection weren’t precisely classics. Whereas the Harry Potter franchise proved to be a $7.7 billion rainmaker for Warner Bros., “The Divergent Collection,” based mostly on the dystopian sci-fi novels by Veronica Roth, hemorrhaged moviegoer curiosity so shortly that the fourth and remaining film was reconceived as a TV film and a by-product collection. Huge ebook gross sales did not at all times translate into brisk theatrical enterprise.
However one collection that managed to generate constant curiosity all through its three-film run was “The Maze Runner.” Primarily based on the dystopian sci-fi novels by James Dashner (youngsters simply love immersing themselves in cruddy future civilizations), the primary movie facilities on a gaggle of children who discover themselves trapped in a labyrinth (aka the Glade) from which they have to escape — which proves particularly tough, since this labyrinth has a nasty behavior of shifting as our heroes transfer all through it.
All three motion pictures within the collection starred Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster, and have been directed by Wes Ball (who went on to helm “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”). They weren’t all important darlings, however they acquired a large fanbase. For those who’re seeking to give them a shot, they’re presently streaming on Netflix, however you’d higher get on it: They depart the service on January 9, 2026. Why are they value watching?
The Maze Runner sprints previous most of its YA competitors
If “The Maze Runner” collection had one disadvantage throughout its preliminary theatrical run, it is that the second film, “Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials,” was explicitly a bridge between the primary and third installments. This movie finds the Gladers (the identify given to the children who escaped the maze) braving the perilous, obstacle-laden desert expanse referred to as The Scorch. Although it is likely to be essentially the most thrilling installment within the trilogy, it left audiences hanging for 3 lengthy years till “Maze Runner: The Demise Remedy” was launched in 2018.
Other than the expertly directed motion (Ball will likely be a go-to studio filmmaker for years to return), the attraction of “The Maze Runner” trilogy is its terrific forged. Dylan O’Brien, who will co-star with Rachel McAdams subsequent month within the Sam Raimi thriller “Ship Assist,” is magnetic as Thomas, the movie’s amnesiac protagonist who has no concept how he wound up within the Glade. He is completely complemented by Kaya Scodelario as Teresa, who, we uncover, was as soon as employed by the World Disaster Killzone Division, which is utilizing the youngsters as human lab rats. Scodelario is a massively proficient actor who gave a darkly humorous efficiency as Josh Gad’s sister in Alex Winter’s “Maturity.”
Some complained that the 143-minute “Maze Runner: The Demise Remedy” was a contact distended, however most agree that it introduced the trilogy to a satisfying conclusion. The collection has remained so fashionable over time that twentieth Century Studios introduced in 2024 that they are growing a reboot of types (although there’s been no replace since). Whereas we’re ready, now’s the proper time to get misplaced within the Glade for the primary time.
