Production on the next Maze Runner sequel, Maze Runner: The Death Cure, was shut down last month after its lead star, Dylan O’Brien, was pulled off a vehicle unexpectedly and hit by another vehicle during filming. Unfortunately, it appears as though the actor’s injuries suffered on the set are worse than initially believed.

O’Brien suffered serious injuries, including “concussion, facial fracture, and lacerations,” and filming was halted with the intention to resume once he recovered. 20th Century Fox had initially set May 9th as the date that filming was to resume, but now The Hollywood Reporter reports that cast and crew have been sent home as filming has been postponed for the foreseeable future.

Per THR, a new start-date for production will depend on “O’Brien’s recovery and the ability to reassemble the large cast and crew,” with sources adding that the actor’s injuries are worse than they initially believed. The follow-up saw Wes Ball returning to the director’s chair for the third installment in the franchise, which finds O’Brien’s protagonist on a mission to find a cure for a deadly disease known as the “flare.” The first film was a solid hit, scoring $348.3 million at the worldwide box office, while last fall’s Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials fell a tad short, landing at $312.3 million worldwide. Nonetheless, Fox was committed to moving ahead with the follow-up with the creative team intact, and Death Cure went into production earlier this year.

This third installment in the trilogy, which, itself, is based on a series of novels by James Dashner, likely won’t be making its scheduled February 17, 2017 release date, but, obviously, the health and well-being of O’Brien is more important than rushing him back to set so the movie can stick to its timetable. It’s unclear at this time how soon filming might resume, but this is a very unfortunate development, and we wish O’Brien a full and speedy recovery.

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