Maze Runner Prequel Set for Release in 2016

Posted on September 25, 2014

New York Times bestselling author James Dashner is having a very good week. The feature film version of The Maze Runner topped the box office on its opening weekend. The next film in the series, The Scorch Trials, will be released on September 18, 2015.

Now Delacorte Press has announced that Dashner is penning a prequel to the Maze Runner series which will be released in 2016. The Fever Code will tell the story of how the Maze was created and how Teresa, Thomas and the Gladers came to be there.

Dashner is thrilled with the reaction to the film and to the books which have sold 6.5 million copies so far. He talked about how the prequel came about: " I've always wanted to write a prequel about Thomas, Teresa, Newt, Minho, Alby, and all the Gladers that leads up to the very moment Thomas enters the Box." Dashner says that there are lots of hints in the books about what came before and he can't wait to reveal the history of the Maze and its creators in depth.

Dashner said that fans have written him for years wanting to know all the details of how it all began. Dashner tweeted about the project today: "I'm so excited to write #TheFeverCode. I give you my word, to the utmost extent of my capacity, it'll be the best book I've ever written." We'll take him at his word.

The series has four books so far: The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, and The Kill Order. The prequel will be the fifth book set in the Maze Runner world. The film has already made more than $100 million worldwide in its first week of release. The film stars Dylan O'Brien, Aml Ameen, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, Kaya Scodelario, Patricia Clarkson.

Update: Here is the cover art for The Fever Code. The release date is September 27, 2016. It is available for pre-order on Amazon.com.