Trivia / The Maze Runner (2014)

• Actor Allusion: When Thomas (played by Dylan O'Brien) is carving his name into the wall, you can see the names Scott & Aiden on there.
• Actor-Inspired Heroism: Whilst the film still presents Gally as an antagonist, Will Poulter makes it clear that he does what he does because he genuinely worries for the safety of the rest of the boys. Thus his death scene is very much Alas, Poor Villain and he turns up alive with a Heel–Face Turn in the third film.
• Actor-Shared Background: Dylan O'Brien is a naturally fast runner, just like Thomas.
• Cast the Runner-Up:
  • Thomas Brodie Sangster auditioned for Thomas, and was deemed a better fit for Newt.
  • Will Poulter conversely auditioned for Newt and was then cast as Gally.
• Creator Cameo: James Dashner, author of the book, has a cameo in the end scene — sitting to the right of Ava Paige.
• Creator-Chosen Casting: Kaya Scodelario was the first choice for Teresa, as Wes Ball was a big Skins fan.
• Dawson Casting: Despite playing teen characters, most of the actors were in their twenties during filming. The exception is Blake Cooper as Chuck, who was the same age as his character (12/13 years old).
• Enforced Method Acting:
  • Self-inflicted. Thomas Brodie Sangster put a stone in his shoe to remind him to keep limping.
  • The cast as a whole spent a few days doing survival training, learning how to build tools and shelter. They also camped in the glade for one night to help with a natural feeling of camaraderie.
  • Chuck's death was the last scene filmed. The cast had all had time to bond, so their sad reactions are genuine.
• Fake American: The cast is mostly British, with only Thomas Brodie Sangster getting to keep his accent as Newt. Dylan O'Brien, Blake Cooper, and Patricia Clarkson are American — while Ki Hong Lee was born in Korea but raised in America (and so has the accent naturally).
• On-Set Injury: Dylan O'Brien broke his cheekbone while filming the scene of Thomas running from his first Griever, slipping when he went for the jump.
• Real-Life Relative: In the Latin American Spanish dub, Newt and Teresa are respectively voiced by real-life siblings Arturo and Carla Castañeda.
• Sleeper Hit: It's quite surprising that this was such a hit. Other YA sci-fi adaptations like The Giver, Ender's Game and The Host (2008) flopped, and Divergent was the only one to succeed. The Maze Runner made over $348 million worldwide, on a $34 million budget.
• Studio Hop: When Disney acquired 20th Century Fox in 2019, they acquired the rights to all three Maze Runner films, including this one.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Catherine Hardwicke was originally set to direct until Wes Ball came on board. Ball had been looking to direct a feature-length version of a short film he had made called Ruin. As the tone was so similar to The Maze Runner, he was asked to direct the film adaptation.
  • Dylan O'Brien almost didn't get the role of Thomas. Wes Ball rejected him after seeing photos from Teen Wolf, dismissing him as a Pretty Boy. However, he saw a photo of Dylan with his head shaved from another film and was persuaded to meet with him. The two frequently joke about Dylan's "MTV hair" almost preventing him from getting the part.
  • Other auditionees for Thomas who didn't make the cut included Brenton Thwaites and Connor Paolo.

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