In a world where most book trilogies see their final entry split into two when adapted to the silver screen, Exhibitor Relations reported via Twitter that 20th Century Fox's "The Maze Runner: The Death Cure" will be released as one film on Feb. 17, 2017.
"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay" split into two films and so did "Harry Potter," "DIvergent," and even "Twilight." It comes as a surprise that the third "Maze Runner" film would not follow this trend. "The Hobbit" was just one book but it was stretched out as three films.
According to Screen Rant, there is an argument of whether this trend benefits a film franchise or not. Some fans argue that splitting a third book into two films extends the life of the franchise, keeps people entertained, and also brings in more profit to the studios. This also prevents the film from cutting sub-plots and characters out because of the extended running time through two films.
On the other hand, others complain, arguing that it ruins the pacing of the story since the films now need to spend more time on what should have been shorter scenes or minor sub-plots.
"The Maze Runner: The Death Cure" is the third and final film in the franchise based on the books written by James Dashner. Dashner also wrote the prequel titles "The Kill Order" and "The Fever Code." Whether or not these prequels are also going to get adapted into films has yet to be seen.
"The Maze Runner" films stars Dylan O'Brien as Thomas, a boy who is kept captive along with several other teenagers who all try to escape a maze they were placed in as part of an elaborate experiment, years after the world virtually ended due to a strange epidemic.
The second film in the franchise, "The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials," is scheduled to hit theaters nationwide on Sept. 28. As reported, the third film "The Maze Runner: The Death Cure" will follow suit on Feb. 17, 2017.
