The Maze Runner was released in the US on Friday and an impressive opening of an estimated $32.5 million has resulted in 20th Century Fox announcing a 2015 release date for the sequel, The Scorch Trials.
The movie was only expected to earn quite a bit less than this, so the fact that it has exceeded expectations has clearly shown the studio that they have a hit on their hands (especially as it took $49 million overseas for a current worldwide total of $81.5 million). Reviews have also been mostly positive so far.
The Scorch Trials will be released on September 18th, 2015, under a year from now. That date means it will square off against Baltasar Kormákur’s Everest and the untitled Whitey Bulger biopic starring Johnny Depp.
Wes Ball will return to direct and shooting is expected to start soon. T.S. Nowlin also returns as writer.
The Maze Runner is the first in a trilogy of novels from James Dashner, and the big screen adaptation stars Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, and Aml Ameen. The movie focuses on a group of youngsters who must fight their way through a mysterious maze to escape their captivity.
The Scorch Trials takes place shortly after the events of The Maze Runner and is followed by The Death Cure. A prequel – The Kill Order – was released in 2012, though there’s no word on a possible adaptation.
