The post-apocalyptic box office sensation The Maze Runner, based on the novel of the same name by James Dashner, is out today on DVD and Blu-Ray! We spoke with the author to learn all about the process from the page to the big screen!

James Dashner’s The Maze Runner was first published in 2009. In a few short years, the film was optioned by 20th Century Fox to be made into a film.

“That was definitely one of the best days of my life, being such a big movie fan,” Dashner told us. “It was totally, absolutely a dream come true. That would have been cool enough, but to actually have people with such talent and who care so much about the story and who’ve created such a fantastic product, I just feel like I’ve won the lottery. I’ve been very, very thrilled with this whole thing.”

Like any author whose novel becomes a film, Dashner had to surrender some much of the creative process over to the filmmakers.

“I was nervous about it at first, but my fears were quickly extinguished once I talked to director Wes Ball and I saw a bunch of his concept art,” Dashner said. “When he so enthusiastically described to me his vision for the film, I quickly, with a sigh of relief, left it in their hands.”

In fact, Dashner said he preferred the hands-off approach.

“I was actually very happy not to have the pressure of trying to convert it myself,” he said. “I was involved just enough to feel like I was a part of it, and man, I really feel like they nailed it.”

Like many authors before him, Dashner also makes a brief cameo appearance in the film!

“That was cool,” he said. “I always wanted to have a cameo. Stephen King is in a lot of his, there’s Stan Lee, and in the old days there was Alfred Hitchcock. Even before I could ask, Wes Ball told me he wanted me to have a cameo.”

Appearing in the film was a process of going through makeup and costuming before getting in front of the camera.

“It was just fun to actually be in a real Hollywood film,” he said. “Seeing it on the big screen for the first time was just so weird. It’s really surreal and hard to describe, but it’s been a lot of fun for my fans and my readers to spot me. A lot evidently screamed in the theater, which was cool.”

The film sequel to The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials is already in production! We asked Dashner if we could spill any details on the upcoming film.

“As you can imagine, Fox really encourages me very strongly to keep my mouth shut, which is hard for me to do sometimes,” he said.

He did reveal that he’s visited the set and met some of the new actors for the upcoming film, including Giancarlo Esposito, who will play Jorge, and Rosa Salazar, who will be Brenda.

“I will say the new additions to the film and the completely new world that Wes Ball is building, because The Scorch Trials is extremely different from Maze Runner, is going to be very fresh and exciting and intense, and even crazier than the first one so people are going to love it,” he said.

Be sure to get your own copy of The Maze Runner today! The Blu-ray combo pack includes a 24-page prequel comic book, deleted scenes with director’s commentary, a making-of features, “Chuck Daires” gag reel and much more!

Love The Maze Runner? Stay tuned for even more from author James Dashner later this week, and share your favorite moments from the film with us at Sweety High!

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