James Dashner discusses upcoming changes in ‘Scorch Trials’ movie

Yesterday we were treated to the first ‘Scorch Trials’ trailer and now Maze Runner author James Dashner is opening up about some of the book-to-movie changes fans should expect in the sequel. Note, spoilers of both the ‘Scorch Trials’ book and movie are coming up. Speaking to RadioTimes.com, Dashner revealed the largest change in the […]

 

Yesterday we were treated to the first ‘Scorch Trials’ trailer and now Maze Runner author James Dashner is opening up about some of the book-to-movie changes fans should expect in the sequel.

Note, spoilers of both the ‘Scorch Trials’ book and movie are coming up.

Speaking to RadioTimes.com, Dashner revealed the largest change in the ‘Scorch Trials’ movie. It’s notably one that actually happened in ‘The Maze Runner’.

What was the biggest challenge of bringing the second book to the big screen?
“The biggest issue was that some of the changes we made in the first one had ripple effects that affected the second book even more so. For the second movie, we really tried hard to stay true to the spirit and tone of the book and keep some of the major scenes, but we had a little bit more of an increase in changes between book and movie. But I think my readers will be happy with it.”

Does that mean Thomas and Teresa are still unable to communicate telepathically?
“You’ve really nailed it. That’s the biggest ripple effect that we had to deal with, because that’s so integral to the second book; how they communicate while they’re separated. I can’t give too much away yet, but that’ll be probably the biggest thing that people notice – the change with where Teresa (Kaya Scodelario) is throughout the movie and that’s because of the change we decided on for the first movie. I think it still captures the spirit of what happens in the book and I do think people will be happy with it.”

It’ll definitely be interesting to see how they make up for telepathy cut in the second movie. Fans who have already read The Scorch Trials will remember that Thomas and Teresa spend a large portion of the book separated from each other. Their communication with each other is off and on and is done through their telepathic powers. It’s also a major plot device as it unveils parts of Thomas’s past.

Despite the changes, Dashner seems to be very pleased with what he’s seen of the adaptation. He tweeted the following on Tuesday:

In the tweet, Dashner reveals that part of the third Maze Runner book, The Death Cure will appear in the second movie.

James Dashner also talks about not splitting ‘The Death Cure’ movie into two parts, citing fandom “annoyance” as one of the major reasons behind the decision.

To read the rest of the interview, head on over to RadioTimes.com.

‘The Scorch Trials’ is due in theaters September 18, 2015.

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Saul Marquez founded Bookstacked in 2014 and serves as the site's Editor-in-Chief. He primarily covers news for Bookstacked. He also co-hosts Bookmarked: A YA Book Podcast.

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