In a later scene, Paige reveals to fellow WCKD scientists that the first phase of their experiment was a success, as the teens move into phase 2. The Gladers are told they're part of an experiment looking for a cure.
At the end of the first movie, Ava Paige appears on a video screen and explains to the Gladers that Earth was devastated by a solar flare, and then humankind's already dwindling numbers were ravaged by the Flare virus.
Since Thomas and the rest of the Gladers were put into the Maze after having their memories wiped, they didn't discover the purpose for the Maze until after they had escaped. The concepts of the Flare and the cure weren't truly introduced until the end of The Maze Runner. To understand The Death Cure, we must first establish what we learned in the previous films. Since there's a great deal going on, we unpack the trilogy capper and attempt to make sense of Maze Runner: The Death Cure's ending. Maze Runner: The Death Cure builds on story threads established in both The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials, but also introduces new key concepts that become integral to the concluding chapter. But thanks to an uprising led by Lawrence (Walton Goggins) and a hostile takeover of WCKD led by Janson, Thomas barely makes it out of the city alive and flees with his remaining friends to the safe haven Vince has found where those immune from the Flare will attempt to rebuild society. When Theresa convinces Thomas he may be the only answer to producing a viable cure, he goes back. The Right Arm saved a number of Immunes and planned to find a safe haven away from the reach of the Flare and WCKD. Although Thomas and his friends - who meet up with former Glader Gally (Will Poulter) on the outskirts of the city - are successful in rescuing Minho from WCKD, they're unable to get the cure to save Newt, who isn't immune like his friends thought. Minho is only WCKD's prisoner because Theresa (Kaya Scodelario) betrayed Thomas and their friends by telling WCKD's leader Ava Page (Patricia Clarkson) and head of security Janson (Aidan Gillen) about their location after they had escaped.Īs a result, Thomas, Newt, Frypan (Dexter Darden), Jorge (Giancarlo Esposito), and Brenda (Rosa Salazar) leave Vince (Barry Pepper) and the rest of the resistance group the Right Arm in order to infiltrate the last standing city and save Minho. Thomas (O'Brien) and Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) attempt to rescue their friend Minho (Ki Hong Lee) from the clutches of WCKD, where he's being experimented on along with other teenaged Immunes - those who are immune to the Flare virus that turns humans into zombie-like Cranks. Read More: Why Maze Runner: The Death Cure Was Delayedįor its part, The Death Cure wraps up the storylines of the franchise's main characters.
The third movie in the series, based on the Dashner's The Death Cure, was originally intended to debut in 2017, but The Death Cure was delayed after star Dylan O'Brien was injured on set in early 2016.
It follows The Maze Runner, which premiered in 2014 amid the popularity of fellow YA dystopian trilogy-based series The Hunger Games and Divergent, and Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials in 2015. The Death Cure is the third and (most likely) final installment in 20th Century Fox's sci-fi movie franchise. Today, we break down the conclusion to the trilogy. Maze Runner: The Death Cure brings the YA dystopian film series based on James Dashner's novels to an end, but not in the most clear and resolute way.