You know that feeling when you're staring at a streaming menu and you just can't remember if the "scorch" happened before or after the "cure"? It's annoying. Honestly, watching the maze runner movie series in order is the only way to make sense of WICKED’s absolutely unhinged logic. If you jump in mid-stream, you’re just watching teenagers run through dirt, and that’s not really the point.
The trilogy, based on James Dashner’s massive YA book series, hit theaters right when the dystopian craze was peaking. It was a weird time. The Hunger Games was king, and Divergent was trying its best. But Maze Runner felt different. It was grittier. It felt less like a political allegory and more like a horror-survival fever dream. Dylan O’Brien basically carried the franchise on his back, turning Thomas from a confused "Greenie" into a genuine action hero.
If you’re planning a marathon, you have to watch them in the order they were released. There are no prequels—at least not in movie form—so the chronological order is the release order.
The Maze Runner (2014): Where the Running Actually Happens
This is the one that started it all. You’ve got Thomas waking up in a rusty elevator—the Box—with no memory. He’s surrounded by a group of boys who have built a surprisingly functional society called the Glade. Outside the walls? A massive, shifting concrete maze filled with Grievers, which are basically bio-mechanical nightmares.
Wes Ball, the director, did something pretty impressive here with a relatively small budget of $34 million. He made the Maze feel huge. The stakes are simple: find a way out or die. It’s the most "pure" film in the series. You aren't worried about global conspiracies yet. You're just worried about Minho and Thomas making it back before the doors slam shut.
The first film works because it’s a mystery. Why are they there? Who is sending them supplies? What does WICKED stand for? (World In Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department—yeah, they weren't winning any awards for subtle naming). By the time Gally and Thomas have their final standoff, the world expands. The realization that the world outside is a sun-scorched wasteland changes everything.
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) and the Genre Pivot
Everything changes here. If you’re watching the maze runner movie series in order, The Scorch Trials is usually where people get a bit thrown off. We leave the Maze behind entirely.
Suddenly, it’s a zombie movie. Sort of.
The "Cranks" are humans infected by the Flare virus, and they are terrifying. They aren't the slow, shuffling George Romero zombies; they’re fast, screaming, and often covered in gross fungal growths. Thomas and his crew—now known as the Gladers—realize that escaping the Maze was just Phase One of a much larger, much more twisted experiment.
This movie is breathless. It’s basically one long chase sequence across a ruined city. We meet Jorge and Brenda, played by Giancarlo Esposito and Rosa Salazar, who add some much-needed adult energy to the mix. The betrayal at the end of this film—no spoilers, but Teresa has her reasons—is what sets up the high stakes for the finale. It’s messy, loud, and way more chaotic than the first one.
Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018): The Final Stand
This one took a while to get to us. Production was famously halted for a long time after Dylan O’Brien suffered a severe on-set injury. When it finally arrived in 2018, the YA hype train had mostly left the station, but The Death Cure is actually a remarkably solid conclusion.
It’s a heist movie.
The goal? Break into the Last City, the final stronghold of WICKED, to save Minho and find a permanent cure for the Flare. It’s the longest film in the trilogy, and you can feel the weight of it. The visual effects are top-tier. Watching the city burn while Thomas and Newt deal with their own personal tragedies is genuinely heavy stuff.
What’s interesting about watching the maze runner movie series in order is seeing the moral ambiguity grow. Is WICKED actually evil? They’re trying to save the human race from extinction. But how many kids are you allowed to torture to save a billion people? The movie doesn't give you an easy out. It forces Thomas to decide if the cost of the cure is too high.
Why the Order Matters for the Lore
You might be tempted to look for a "chronological" timeline that includes the book prequels The Kill Order and The Fever Code. Don't. Those haven't been adapted into films, and trying to piece them together using YouTube lore videos before watching the trilogy will just spoil the mystery.
The movies were designed to be experienced through Thomas’s eyes. You’re supposed to be as confused as he is. When he finds out that he actually helped design the Maze before his memory was wiped, it’s a gut-punch. That impact is lost if you try to over-analyze the timeline beforehand.
💡 You might also like: Why Usher DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love Lyrics Still Rule the Dance Floor
Casting: The Secret Sauce
Honestly, the reason these movies still rank high on streaming platforms is the cast. You have:
- Dylan O'Brien: Who proved he was more than just the funny guy from Teen Wolf.
- Thomas Brodie-Sangster: Bringing a quiet, British soulfulness to Newt.
- Will Poulter: Who played Gally with such a perfect mix of menace and misplaced loyalty.
- Kaya Scodelario: Handling the most controversial character in the series with a lot of nuance.
Most YA adaptations from that era fell apart because the lead actors felt like they were just posing. This crew felt like they actually liked each other. The "Newtmas" fandom didn't happen by accident; the chemistry was real.
Real Talk: Is a Reboot or Sequel Coming?
There has been a lot of chatter lately about Disney (who now owns the rights via 20th Century Studios) looking to restart the franchise. The rumors suggest it wouldn't be a direct sequel with the original cast—since their story is pretty much wrapped up—but perhaps a "reimagining" or an adaptation of the prequel novels.
Fans are divided. On one hand, seeing the "Post-Flare" world again with modern CGI would be cool. On the other hand, it's hard to imagine anyone but Dylan O’Brien as Thomas. If they do go the prequel route, we’d see the actual downfall of society and the immediate aftermath of the sun flares, which is a much darker, more "adult" story than the original trilogy.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Rewatch
If you’re diving back in, here is how to get the most out of it:
- Watch for the WICKED logos: They are hidden everywhere in the first movie, even in places you wouldn't expect. It shows just how much control they had from the start.
- Pay attention to the color palette: Notice how the first movie is lush and green, the second is washed-out orange and brown, and the third is cold, sterile blue and grey. It’s a subtle bit of storytelling that reflects Thomas’s loss of innocence.
- Check out the deleted scenes: Especially for The Scorch Trials. There is a lot of character development between Jorge and the kids that got cut for time but adds a lot of heart to the story.
- Don't skip the credits: The music by John Paesano is some of the best in 2010s action cinema. The "Finale" track in The Death Cure is a masterpiece.
The maze runner movie series in order is a rare beast: a YA trilogy that actually finished its story and stayed relatively consistent in quality. It’s a fun, intense weekend binge that holds up surprisingly well over a decade later.
Get your snacks ready. Start with the elevator. Watch the doors open. And whatever you do, don't stop running.