The sequel to the Maze Runner film has been casting all sorts of fresh faces, including an actress who will appear in the upcoming film Insurgent, Rosa Salazar . Now the Maze Runner follow-up, The Scorch Trials , has cast an even bigger name, Giancarlo Esposito–best known for playing the meth kingpin Gustavo Fring in the AMC hit show Breaking Bad .
According to Slash Film, Giancarlo will be joining recently-cast Aiden Gillen from another huge TV show, G ame of Thrones , in the latest Maze Runner installment. However, Giancarlo won’t be following in the footsteps of the emotionless sociopath Gus by joining Gillen in the villain role. Esposito will be playing Jorge in the Maze Runner sequel, the leader of a group of survivors that call themselves the Cranks. The gang includes Rosa Salazar’s character Brenda.
According to Inside Movies , the Cranks group encounter the gang led by the main character of the Maze Runner trilogy, Thomas (played by Dylan O’Brien). The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials also recently cast Jacob Lofland from Mud as Aris Jones, which you can read more about here.
The next Maze Runner film will be directed by Wes Ball, who helmed the first Maze Runner movie. Giancarlo will also appear in the third film of the Maze Runner series, The Death Cure.
The Maze Runner isn’t Giancarlo’s first time taking part in a fictional dystopia. He also appeared in the NBC show Revolution , which imagines a world without electricity. Esposito also appears in ABC show Once Upon a Time . After filming The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials , Esposito will be appearing in Disney’s remake of The Jungle Book . It could be interesting to see Esposito’s performance in a film based on a Young Adult novel like The Maze Runner , especially after playing an unscrupulous drug lord in Breaking Bad.
The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials will begin filming sometime this month. For more on the top secret production of the sequel, read about its mysterious filming location .
The Maze Runner films are based on a trilogy of novels by James Dashner, following several groups of teenagers with wiped memories forced to explore a maze they call the Glade. Dashner’s Maze Runner novels have gained critical acclaim, and the films they inspired have done reasonably well in the box office.
You can expect to see the next Maze Runner movie in theaters next year on September 18.
What do you think about Gus Fring being cast in The Maze Runner ?