‘Maze Runner’ Producer Hand-Picked Dylan O’Brien — Find Out Why He Was Perfect

Few film franchises are criticized for their casting choices as much as adaptations of popular young adult novels. While the Hunger Games movies received a lot of heat for casting a dark-skinned actress in the role of Rue, they were praised for their choice of lead in Jennifer Lawrence. Similarly, the Maze Runner film series has been widely celebrated for casting Dylan O’Brien as the lead role of Thomas from the Maze Runner books. Some behind-the-scenes footage from the first Maze Runner film has been released, and it reveals why Dylan O’Brien was chosen to star as Thomas.

According to J-14, O’Brien was cast by Maze Runner producer Wyck Godfrey for very specific reasons. Dylan was specially selected to bring a more relatable side to the character of Thomas, who isn’t quite as lovable in the Maze Runner books. You can watch the interview and exclusive Maze Runner footage in the video below.

Godfrey also explains that Dylan O’Brien was goofy and charismatic, which brought a lot to the Maze Runner franchise. Add to that, O’Brien was very athletic, which is a must-have for the Maze Runner series. The Maze Runner film tells the story of a group of teenagers with no memory of their past who are forced to guard a giant maze they call the Glade. Legend has it that the sting of a creature hidden within the Glade can restore the lost memories and unravel the mysterious pasts of Thomas and his companions. The Maze Runner is based on the books by James Dashner.

Dylan O’Brien is best known for his work on the reboot of Teen Wolf, on which he worked with Wyck Godfrey. You can see O’Brien showing off the goofy side that got him the role of Thomas, in part, in another exclusive behind-the-scenes video from the Maze Runner set at Cambio. You can see the Maze Runner stars running through the green-screen sets and horsing around in between takes. When asked about who was fastest at running through the Maze Runner Glade set between him and his co-star Ki Hong, Dylan O’Brien responded:

“I don’t want to say who’s faster. It’s not a contest. We’re both runners [laughs]. I mean, God, for every time that Ki Hong’s just given me a nice butt pat, and like a smooch, like ‘Let’s go baby!’ It’s just so funny, man.”

So far, the first Maze Runner film has a cumulative score of 63 percent at Rotten Tomatoes. Have you seen TheMaze Runner yet? If so, what did you think of it? The Maze Runner sequel, The Scorch Trials is set to release in 2015.