Whedonopolis nabbed a great seat in the packed house to get you this video of 20th Century Fox’s press conference for The Maze Runner.  Based on the YA novel by author James Dashner, the movie promises to bring to screen the strange existence of a group of young men in the mysterious place known only as The Glades, where massive walls move themselves and mechanical-hybrid killing creatures called Grievers are part of daily life.

Teen Wolf star, Dylan O’Brien (Thomas) and 2014 BAFTA Rising Star Award winner, Will Poulter (Gally) sat down with author James Dashner and the film’s director, Wes Ball in the press room at WonderCon 2014.

Among other comments, O’Brien tells reporters what it was like to work on this film, versus his role as Stiles in Teen Wolf: “It’s a challenge, but as an actor it’s a role you would absolutely kill for.  It’s the unsung hero, the ordinary person in extraordinary situations.”

When Whedonopolis asked the panel what they thought was the driver to the current media interest in YA post-apocalyptic books and movies, O’Brien quipped, “Jennifer Lawrence. How could that not spawn a franchise?”  Ball shared his thoughts that young people like to be treated as adults, and not be pandered to, and that’s the approach they took.  Poulter says that speaking as one of the cast, he rejects the term “young adult” as being patronizing to young audiences, and that this film in particular has a different approach to the action-heavy genre; it has an integrity to the characters and their emotional relationships.

Watch the full clip for more details on these questions and others, and be sure to leave comments and subscribe to our youtube channel!