It’s been at least a few hours since we’ve talked about something to do with an adaptation of a young adult novel, so what better time than now to reengage in that never-ending conversation. The adaptation of choice in this case is director Wes Ball’s upcoming debut feature, The Maze Runner, which doesn’t sound like the absolute worst idea in the world for a feature, but it could just be my affinity for mazes.
Since traditional news media is so yesterday, news of actress Kaya Scodelario joining the cast of The Maze Runner came courtesy of Wes Ball’s Twitter feed, in which he jokingly dropped his casting infobomb.
“Aml Ameen and Kaya Scodelario were mesmerizing on camera today. Oops. Did I just reveal @kScodders is our Teresa? :)” was Bell’s entire message, and it’s a pretty big one, considering nearly every other character in the novel is a young male, and the female character is the second lead of the film. I guess Twitter is better than reading it on some bathroom stall, but still.
Scodelario joins a small cast, which includes the aforementioned Ameen (Red Tails, Harry’s Law), Will Poulter (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) and Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Game of Thrones). Scodelario, probably best known for her role in the BBC’s Skins, was last seen in last year’s Wuthering Heights adaptation and the recently released thriller Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes.
The Maze Runner centers on Thomas, who arrives via elevator to a large area called the Glade, with no memory of who he is. There are around sixty other boys, called Gladers, in the area, and Thomas learns that there is a maze outside the Glade’s concrete walls that shifts its pattern every night and contains some weird animal/machine hybrids. Then, a girl shows up with a mysterious message, and everything gets even more interesting... we assume.
The novel was written by James Dashner, and it’s the first of a trilogy, so assuming this thing makes even a dollar over its budget, they’ll be making sequels.
