'The Maze Runner 3' release date: Production resumes in February 2017; premiere moved to 2018

Promotional image for "The Maze Runner"20th Century Fox

Production for "The Maze Runner: The Death Cure" came to a halt when star Dylan O'Brien was injured on set last March. Production was meant to resume in May, but it was indefinitely put on hold to allow the actor to heal. It has now been confirmed production will resume in February 2017.

According to a report from Deadline, filming with O'Brien will resume early next year, but it will no longer be in Vancouver, British Columbia which is where filming had halted due to the accident. As of the moment, no information has been stated regarding the new filming location.

Wes Ball is still in the director's chair, and the film will still follow the script by T.S. Nowlin, based on the books by James Dashner. It is unknown if other scenes had been filmed in Vancouver while O'Brien was recovering from his injuries.

Due to the delay in resuming production, the movie has been pushed back an entire year. The film was initially going to premiere in theaters on Feb. 17, 2017, but the accident and the delay in production have pushed it to Jan. 12, 2018. According to the report, this new release date is still intact.

SlashFilm points out that "The Death Cure" is the final movie in the franchise, given that it is based on the third and final book in the series. However, James Dashner did work on two prequel novels, and they may be adapted for a series of prequel films, leading to the events seen in the first "Maze Runner" movie.

However, the second movie, "The Maze Runner: Scorched Trials," made significantly less money than the first entry, making $20 Million less in the US and $36 Million less worldwide compared to the box office results of the first movie. Due to this decline, it is possible the studios will not move forward with a prequel series.

"The Maze Runner: The Death Cure" is slated to premiere on Jan. 12, 2018.