Rising British star secures key role in adaptation.
‘Skins’ and ‘Wuthering Heights’ star Kaya Scodelario has been confirmed as the female lead in director Wes Ball’s ‘The Maze Runner.’
Based on the first book in James Dashner’s young adult sci-fi trilogy, the dystopian tale follows Thomas (still-uncast), who after having his memory wiped is deposited in The Glade – a large, open expanse populated by a group of sixty or so teenage boys called “Gladers.” Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift. Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl (Scodelario) is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.
The film will co-star Will Poulter (‘The Chronicles of Narnia,’ ‘Son of Rambow’) as Gally, Thomas’ nemesis; Thomas Brodie-Sangster (‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘The Baytown Outlaws’) as Newt, and Aml Ameen (‘Evidence,’ ‘Kidulthood’) as Alby, the strict leader of the Gladers.
‘The Maze Runner’ is set to kick off principal photography next month in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.