Maze Runner sequel delayed: The Death Cure pushed back to 2018 as Dylan O'Brien recovers from injuries

Maze Runner: The Death Cure was scheduled to be released in 2017, but now the movie has been pushed back to 2018. The reason for the delay is lead actor Dylan O'Brien's injuries that he sustained while filming for the 20th Century Fox movie back in March.

Fox has pushed the release date for the third film in the trilogy to 12 January 2018. O'Brien was hospitalised after the incident.

Earlier, 20th Century Fox has shut production indefinitely and released a statement saying: "The resumption of principal photography on Maze Runner: The Death Cure has been further delayed to allow Dylan O'Brien more time to fully recover from his injuries. We wish Dylan a speedy recovery and look forward to restarting production as soon as possible."

According to a report in The Hollywood Reporter, while filing for an action scene, O'Brien was attached to a harness on top of a moving vehicle when he was accidentally pulled off and was hit by another oncoming vehicle. "The actor's injuries were described in a report from WorkSafeBC as including a concussion, facial fracture and lacerations," the website said.

The Death Cure is the third installment in the trilogy based on James Dashner's novels. Wes Ball, who helmed the previous films, The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials, is directing The Death Cure, wherein O'Brien's character Thomas searches for a cure for a deadly disease called the "Flare".