It seems that six years are enough to reboot a saga. And if not, ask 20th Century Studios, now a subsidiary of Disney, which barely five years has passed since the end of the original saga of ‘The Maze Runner’ is already preparing a new story about that dystopian universe based on the novels by James Dashner, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The outlet also notes that 20th Century is in talks with Jack Paglen to be the screenwriter of this continuation. Paglen is known for writing ‘Alien: Covenant’, the latest ‘Alien’ film directed by Ridley Scott, and for writing the script for ‘Transcendence’, a film starring Johnny Depp and Rebecca Hall. Wes Ball, director of the ‘Maze Runner’ trilogy, will produce the reboot.
A reboot that does not pretend to tell the same story or be a fourth part. According to THR, 20th Century’s plan involves repeat the model of one of his greatest assets of the year, ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’directed precisely by Wes Ball, and which will take place in the same universe as the trilogy that began in 2011 with ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’, but several decades after the end of the third, with new characters and an independent story.
A success at the box office
While it is true that the ‘Labyrinth Runner’ trilogy did not arouse the admiration of critics, especially its last two installments, there is no doubt that 20th Century Fox was more than profitable. The first film, released in 2014, It cost the studio just $35 million and grossed $348 million.a complete success that quickly led to the green light being given to the next two.
In them the effect was smaller, but also notable. ‘The Maze Runner: The Trials’ (2015) cost $61 million and grossed $313 million, while ‘The Maze Runner: The Death Cure’ (2018) had a budget of $62 million and grossed $288 million. Would a reboot be able to repeat these good numbers?
