'Maze Runner' 2 cast, news & update: Dylan O'Brien, crew face investigation following allegations of artifact theft during 'The Scorch Trials' filming

• comments
• 
• 

The cast and crew of "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials" are under fire after Dylan O'Brien's nonchalant comments on how they may have taken Native American artifacts from the shoot site location, Entertainment Weekly reports.

O'Brien said during an interview on Live with Kelly and Michael, "They gave us this big speech when we got there to shoot, and they said, 'Don't take anything. Respect the grounds.' They were very strict about littering and don't take any artifacts - rocks, skulls, anything like that. And everyone just takes stuff, you know, obviously."

The production filmed at the Diamond Tail Ranch, a location between Sandia and San Felipe pueblos near the history Hispanic village of Placitas. A representative for the studio said in a statement, "Twentieth Century Fox and The Scorch Trials production team take these issues very seriously and we are conducting a thorough investigation into the matter. If any artifacts were mishandled or removed from the location, we will do everything to ensure they are restored."

CBC News reports that New Mexico Film Office director Nick Maniatis also committed to working with 20th Century Fox for the investigation.

"If artifacts were taken, we believe they should be returned immediately. Twentieth Century Fox has been extremely co-operative and shares the Film Office's concern and sensitivity toward the matter," Maniatis said.

According to Diamond Tail Ranch manager Roch Hart, "They want to make it right. Right now, we don't know if anything was removed, but we are taking the claims very seriously."

The Wrap reports that a petition was created by 19 year old fan, Maeve Cunningham, for the cast and crew to issue an apology for stealing ancient artifacts from the historic site.

"I watched Dylan's interview, and this disappointment hit me when he mentioned how he and other members of the cast disturbed the site and took pieces from it," Cunningham explained. "Native American rights are important to me, and hearing someone who you have a lot of respect for completely disregarding someone else's culture and basic human rights in such a disrespecting manner was just this big letdown for me. I believe a lot of other fans are disappointed and angry, too."

TIME reports that as of Oct. 6, 34,000 signatures have been gathered. Maze Runner: Scorch Trials opened on September 18 in the U.S. and is directed by Wes Ball, with the script penned by T.S. Nowlin.