Maze Runner release delayed until 2018 after Dylan O'Brien injuries

Fox has pushed back the release date of the third film in the Maze Runner trilogy as Dylan O'brien continues to recover from his injuries.

The 24-year-old star was involved in a horrific accident on the set of The Maze Runner: The Death Cure in March (16) when a stunt went wrong, causing the actor to be run over by a car.

Dylan, who plays Thomas, the lead character in the dystopian adventure franchise, was admitted to hospital with "severe injuries" in Vancouver, Canada near to where filming was taking place.

The Hollywood Reporter writes that Dylan was in a harness on top of a moving vehicle when he was pulled off unexpectedly and hit by another vehicle. His injuries were described in a report from the Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia as including a "concussion, facial fracture and lacerations."

Production on the film was shut down in an effort to give the actor time to recover, and it was reported that filming would resume on 15 May (16). However, Fox shut down production for the foreseeable future after it was revealed Dylan's injuries were more serious than first though.

Now, the film studio announced on Saturday (28May16) that the movie, which originally had a release date of 17 February 2017, would now be released on 12 January 2018.

Wes Ball, who is directing The Death Cure, expressed his feelings of guilt in an emotional post on Twitter.com in the wake of Dylan's accident. "Well, it's been a whirlwind of emotions these past few days," he wrote. "I've been overwhelmed with feelings of anger and sadness and guilt."

The first Maze Runner film, released in 2014, grossed more than $348 million worldwide, and its 2015 sequel The Scorch Trials took over $312 million at the global box office.