Teen Wolf ended back in September 2017, but the heartthrobing role of Dylan O’Brien as Stiles Stilinski is still fresh in our minds. In March 2016, the actor suffered a grave accident on the sets of Maze Runner: The Death Cure that had him contemplating his future career as an actor. Luckily for fans of O’Brien, after a brief hiatus from the limelight, the actor went on to star in a slew of nuanced projects exploring his range with some standout performances. He is now back with a bang, with exciting projects up his sleeve, as fans wait in anticipation to watch their favorite brown-eyed hottie on the big screen once again!
Dylan O’Brien has come a long way since his boyish days as the loyal and infinitely charming Stiles Stilinski on MTV’s Teen Wolf or the impulsive Thomas in the Maze Runner trilogy. With projects like Love and Monsters and The Outfit, O’Brien proved that he’s more than just a pretty face showcasing his acting prowess. With a string of upcoming projects lined up with acclaimed directors and diverse plotlines, let’s look into what Dylan O’Brien has been up to.
Dylan O’Brien Became a Household Name After Starring as Stiles Stilinski in Teen Wolf
Dylan O’Brien shot to fame alongside Tyler Posey in the wildly popular MTV series Teen Wolf — a show that re-defined television for teenagers at the time. The show revolves around an awkward teenager, Scott McCall (Posey), who gets bitten by a werewolf, leading him to become one himself. The show guides viewers through how he grapples with his new identity while dealing with life as a teenager. Stiles Stilinski is the funny and sarcastic best friend of the novice werewolf — with comedic traits that could be best described as similar to a modern-day Chandler Bing from Friends — he was hilariously relatable and a fan-favorite character.
Spread across six glorious seasons, viewers watched O’Brien’s character go through immense character development, with the dynamic duo of Scott and Stiles being the primary reason for viewers staying hooked. However, Dylan O’Brien refrained from being a part of the 2023 movie continuation of the show Teen Wolf: The Movie — stating the hasty development of the movie and contentment over how things ended for his character in the series as reasons for his absence.
Will Dylan O’Brien Reprise his Role as Thomas in The Maze Runner Reboot?
Dylan O’Brien’s role as Thomas in the movie adaptations of James Dashner‘s YA books, the Maze Runner series, was his first significant role as a movie lead. The Teen Wolf star appeared in all three movie adaptations of the Maze Runner Trilogy: The Maze Runner (2014), Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015), and Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018). It was while shooting the third installment that the actor got into a stunt accident where he was hit by a stunt car, leaving him severely injured with grave wounds, a concussion, facial fractures, and brain injury. O’Brien had to undergo a painful recovery for more than half a year before he could get back on set to finish shooting.
In early May 2024, 20th Century Studios announced they had decided to reboot the franchise with a new Maze Runner movie. It has been specified that the movie is not intended to be a remake of or a direct sequel to the original but rather a “continuation of the story yet also return to the elements that made the first movie connect with its audience.” Fans would be eager to see Dylan O’Brien reprise the role of Thomas in the upcoming installment of the franchise, but whether it may become a possibility depends on the direction the plot intends to take.
Dylan O’Brien Branched Out Acting in Projects like Love and Monsters and All Too Well: The Short Film
Dylan O’Brien experimented with his acting range by starring in a sea of nuanced projects. His performance in movies like Love and Monsters and The Outfit has earned him critical acclaim. He also starred in the thriller Flashback, arguably one of his best performances to date, as he perfectly portrays emotions of terror and paranoia. The actor portrayed his knack for being versatile as a vape-smoking influencer in films like Not Okay and a teenage virgin boy next door in The First Time opposite Britt Robertson. O’Brien also dabbled in voice acting as the title character in the Transformers spin-off film Bumblebee.
More notably, he starred opposite Stranger Things fame Sade Sink in Taylor Swift’s All Too Well: The Short Film. Avid fans were thrilled to see the actor in a new light as he went against his teen heartthrob persona, playing a toxic boyfriend who went from charming to hotheaded as the screenplay progressed. Fans thoroughly enjoyed getting a taste of Dylan O’Brien’s antagonistic side.
What is Dylan O’Brien Doing Now?
Dylan O’Brien was most recently seen playing the role of an abusive pimp and amateur drug dealer in River Gallo’s short film, Ponyboi. The film received widespread critical acclaim and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, with O’Brien praised for his performance. More recently, it was confirmed that O’Brien would play the role of legacy Saturday Night Live cast member Dan Aykroyd in the highly anticipated movie from Sony Pictures, SNL 1975. Directed by Jason Reitman and co-written by Gil Kenan, the movie also stars Cory Michael Smith, Lamorne Morris, and Matt Wood in titular roles and will be based on the behind-the-scenes action leading up to the first broadcast of NBC’s SNL.
O’Brien is also set to headline in Twinless — a dark comedy written by and starring James Sweeney — where O’Brien will also serve as executive producer. The movie is expected to revolve around the bromance between two men who meet in a twin bereavement support group. The cast of Twinless also includes Gilmore Girls fame Lauren Graham and The Nightingale‘s Aisling Franciosi. If the slew of the actor’s upcoming projects doesn’t suffice — Dylan O’Brien will also star in M. Night Shyamalan-produced movie Caddo Lake along with Eliza Scanlen, Lauren Ambrose, Eric Lange, Sam Hennings, and Diana Hopper. Also, check out these 10 things you didn’t know about Dylan O’Brien.
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