The Maze Runner To Be Shown In Panoramic Format

The Maze Runner, the oft-delayed adaptation of James Dashner’s YA novels, is being given a major format change for its premiere in September. Director Wes Ball is using something called Escape, a three screen panoramic setup that is being first used on this film. It involves setting three larger IMAX-like screens together to form one curved larger screen. It adds both scope and depth and presumably makes the audience “more involved” in the movie.

Escape And Cinerama

Escape is essentially a modernized version of Cinerama, a panoramic style of film watching that was created and popularized in the 1950s. It involved three 35mm projectors playing a film simultaneously on a massive 146 degree screen. However, due to the high cost of creating and maintaining these theaters, the style came and went pretty quickly. However, with the advent of digital filmmaking and the rise of IMAX, the idea has come around again.

The Maze Runner has a larger scope than most films, due to the large plains and immense maze that make up the story. 20th Century Fox decided to experiment with Escape, since the demands of the film made a larger screen necessary to fully tell the story, and it’s likely that if the transfer is both profitable and function more films will be developed this way and more Escape theaters will be built.

Since only a handful of Escape cinemas exist in the country, The Maze Runner’s transfer will be in multiple formats so fans can see the film worldwide. The Dylan O’Brien-starring actioner will be released on September 19 in the United States.