THE MAZE RUNNER didn't receive fantastic reviews (JoBlo.com's JimmyO only gave it a 5), but the film has grossed over $300 million worldwide, so of course it's getting a sequel. THE MAZE RUNNER: SCORCH TRIALS was announced a couple of months ago, and THR has learned Barry Pepper (THE GREEN MILE, THE 25TH HOUR) and Lili Taylor (THE CONJURING, HIGH FIDELITY) have joined the film.
Pepper will play Vince, "a survivalist who is one of the last remaining soldiers of a legendary unit called the Right Arm," while Taylor will play Mary Cooper, "a doctor who started a colony of survivors in the hopes of making a last stand." Actors Dylan O’Brien and Patricia Clarkson are returning for the sequel, as well as director Wes Ball, and Giancarlo Esposito (BREAKING BAD) and Aiden Gillen (GAME OF THRONES) will also appear in THE MAZE RUNNER: SCORCH TRIALS.
Wes Ball has an excellent cast lined up for the sequel, and it's one of the reasons why I'm a little interested in checking it out. THE MAZE RUNNER isn't as bad as other recent YA adaptations, but it's not a great movie either, and I'm hopeful THE MAZE RUNNER: SCORCH TRIALS will be better than the first film.
THE MAZE RUNNER: SCORCH TRIALS will start filming later this month in New Mexico, and it will be in theaters on September 18, 2015.