Summary

  • Director Wes Ball initially rejected Dylan O'Brien's casting as Thomas in the Maze Runner movies because of O'Brien's Teen Wolf hair.
  • O'Brien's role in Fox's 2013 comedy The Internship impressed the studio, leading Ball to reconsider and eventually cast O'Brien as Thomas.
  • The Maze Runner movies helped establish Dylan O'Brien as a franchise lead in Hollywood, elevating his career and opening up more opportunities.

The Maze Runner movies almost did not star Dylan O'Brien as Thomas, as his casting was originally rejected for a rather weird reason. Fox launched the young adult movie franchise based on James Dashner's novels of the same name in 2014. The original Maze Runner movie introduced audiences to Thomas and the rest of the characters in the Glades as they attempt to escape the maze and learn the truth about the world and their pasts. It proved to be a lucrative franchise for Fox, as the trilogy collectively earned nearly $1 billion. The Maze Runner movies helped establish Dylan O'Brien as a franchise lead in Hollywood as a result.

Dylan O'Brien starred as Thomas in all three Maze Runner movies, making them one of his most recognizable roles to date. Although he was previously known for Teen Wolf before headlining the action franchise, Maze Runner's success brought even more opportunities to play pivotal roles in big movies, such as Deepwater Horizon, American Assassin, and Love and Monsters. These movies are largely responsible for elevating his career to a new level, even if he's taken a different approach to his roles since his time as Thomas came to an end. However, the Dylan O'Brien Maze Runner casting almost did not happen.

Why Maze Runner’s Director Didn’t Want To Cast Dylan O’Brien

Characters standing in a field in The Maze Runner

As difficult as it might be for some to imagine anyone else playing Thomas in the Maze Runner movies, Dylan O'Brien's casting was originally rejected by director Wes Ball. The director and studio cast a wide net to find the right actor to play Thomas and lead the potential franchise. Dylan O'Brien was one of the early actors who auditioned for the role, but Ball was not convinced that he could play the role. It had nothing to do with O'Brien's actual audition or acting ability, though. As Ball told Collider, he overlooked casting O'Brien because of his hair.

At the time that the Maze Runner movies were casting Thomas, Dylan O'Brien was still in the process of playing Stiles Stilinski on Teen Wolf. Ball its that he could not see past the hair to envision O'Brien as the vulnerable actor needed to play Thomas. The director needed an actor who could be vulnerable at first and evolve into a leader by the end to convincingly bring Thomas' role in Maze Runner to life. Ball thought Dylan O'Brien was closer to a "badass action star" thanks to his Teen Wolf hair, leading him to reject the idea of casting him - at least at first.

How Dylan O’Brien Was Cast In The Maze Runner

An image of the Maze Runner cast standing together in front of the maze

The story behind Dylan O'Brien being cast in The Maze Runner changed thanks to him working on Fox's 2013 comedy The Internship. Fox urged Ball to consider him as the lead of Maze Runner due to how much the studio liked his performance. It was only at this point that Ball realized Dylan O'Brien submitted an audition tape that he had overlooked. He also saw a photo of O'Brien with a shaved head that made him see a "sweet vulnerable kid" who could play Thomas. The good news is that Wes Ball reconsidered his stance and met with Dylan O'Brien afterward, leading to his eventual casting in The Maze Runner.

Source: Collider