SEOUL — Hollywood’s hottest young actors Dylan O’Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Ki Hong Lee, stars of the franchise film Maze Runner, took this city by storm and captured the hearts of their myriad of fans from this side of the world with their candidness and down-to-earth personalities.
The handsome young men are in this city to promote the third and last installment of the Maze Runner trilogy billed as Maze Runner: The Death Cure. In the dystopian science-fiction action thriller, Dylan plays the role of Thomas, the leader of the “Gladers” while Thomas is Newt, the second in command; and Korean-American actor Ki Hong plays Minho, the head runner.
During the press conference held last Thursday morning at the full-packed Grand Ballroom of Conrad Seoul in the Yeongdeungpo-gu area, muffled shrieks even from the young film journalists present could be heard when the actors made their entrance at the venue at exactly 10:30 a.m.
The same excitement was mirrored during the red carpet event held early evening of the same day at the adjoining IFC Mall cinema where the premiere was held. Lots of screaming young girls were jubilant in their expression of support and admiration for their idols it was heartwarming to see them get acknowledged by the actors in person. Dylan, Ki Hong and Thomas obliged to taking selfies with the fans, signed autographs for them and blew kisses in the air for them. It was truly a fans’ delight.
When asked during the press conference how they feel about the warm reception by their fans, Dylan acknowledged the question by thanking Korea for their support. “It is my first time here. It is exciting to come here and be able to show my appreciation to the fans. The last two days had been great. We have done a lot of drinking and eating since we got here. On our first night, we had Korean barbecue for dinner. On our first morning, we had Korean barbecue for breakfast and we drank at both. It’s been great,” he said smiling.
For his part, Thomas, who says it is his second time to be in Korea, said they had been struggling with jetlag coming from so far away. Acknowledging the negative 14 weather forecast that day, he said, “It is extremely cold outside so we cannot really go out that much. Much of what we have been doing really is eating. I’m extremely enjoying the food. It’s really yummy.”
Ki Hong spoke in either Korean or English all throughout the one-hour press conference to the delight of his fans in his native land. He provided the comic relief for the most part making everyone chuckle whenever he speaks.
He takes pride in the fact that his presence in the cast provides the diversification of the characters in the movie. He said, “I feel that there is something in it for everyone. People can latch on to my character well and that makes it special. Even the fans of the novels can be fans of the movie because the filmmakers were able to create a great adaptation of the book into the movie version.”
Maze Runner: The Death Cure, which is opening in the Philippines on Jan. 24, is the much-awaited follow-up to the second franchise film Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials released in September, 2015. The first Maze Runner was released in 2014. All three movies were culled from the bestselling books of the same title by author James Dashner.
Dylan looks at the film from a deeper perspective. “I am very proud to be part of such a successful franchise. We have a fantastic cast, story and great filmmakers behind this movie. It has become quite its own thing for the new generation. We are seeing all that now on its third installment. The element and genre of the film may be rooted in science fiction, yes, but in reality, this film is so much more than that. The film is also about the characters and how they have evolved into so much more, the relationships fused from the circumstances around them. It is amazingly emotional at times,” he said.
He added, “In this movie, we are in a different place. Significant amount of time has passed, we have been separated and trying to survive. This time, I really feel the maturity of my character. The responsibility wears on my shoulders, I seem to be this weathered leader at this point, scared of the decisions I face and those that I have made. It sort of becomes a coming of age thing, turning me into a man.”
Thomas, whose portrayal of Newt in this last movie goes way beyond emotional, said, “There is truth and reality in what each of our characters went through. There’s outstanding evolution in our characters and the film captured that. The internal struggle we face upon realization that we seem to have lost everything. And that there were choices we made that may not have been entirely right. To acknowledge the truth that everyone has a point and that they may not essentially be wrong or right at the time.”
Thomas, Dylan and Ki Hong’s characters were the embodiment of this evolution, so to speak. They were boys who suddenly became men and heroes. Thomas said, “This represented the precipice of adulthood for us. In some ways, our film characterizations launched us into maturity that will help us find our destiny more comfortably.”
To say that the Maze Runner trilogy has been a wild ride of success for them might be an understatement. So, how does it feel that the journey has finally come to an end?
Dylan said, “We have been talking about it a lot. The franchise really meant a lot to us. It was an incredible experience and we are really sad to see it go. In fact, it is tremendously emotional for most of us. But it’s also a good thing because we were a part of something that we can be proud of. We are happy to be part of something so great and special.”
Thomas sums up the five years they have journeyed on Maze Runner as a great experience. “We worked with great actors, directors and filmmakers. We are sad that it is ending but we are happy that we can take with us everything we learned here and look to the future with great expectations. It’s been great, really,” he concluded.
Maze Runner: The Death Cure will be shown in Philippine cinemas nationwide on Jan. 24, also available on IMAX screens. It is a 20th Century Fox feature film distributed by Warner Bros.