‘Maze Runner: The Death Cure’ Movie News & Update: Star Dylan O’Brien Stole Artifacts From Mexico?

"Maze Runner" star Dylan O'Brien is in hot water --- apparently, for stealing Native American artifacts from the movie set --- artifacts that he nor his fellow actors were supposed to touch to begin with.

A couple of weeks ago on "Live with Kelly & Michael", O'Brien shared that he and a few other cast members were stealing artifacts from the New Mexico set, admitting that they were warned to leave them should they stumble on any while filming. He joked that after taking them, the cast have been cursed as several members got sick, with seemingly very random diagnoses.

Roch Hart, who manages the Diamond Tail Ranch in Albuquerque, where the film was shot, said that they were not happy about O'Brien's comments, insisting that the cast members should return the artifacts to where they belong. "If the artifacts are not returned, we will be contacting our attorney," Hart told TMZ,  

The ranch sits between the Sandia and San Felipe pueblos and is near Placitas, a historic Hispanic village in the area, which also happens to be an abandoned mining community. Jeep tours in the area are said to bring tourists to the region so see artifacts and petroglyphs up close.

Hart said that he already contacted 20th Century Facts regarding the stolen treasures and was told that the studio will be reaching out to the cast and crew. He emphasized how much importance is being placed on the area and the artifacts that are found on it, sharing that they "charge $10 per cigarette butt." He also added, if cast members were caught stealing anything, they were kicked off the property. We didn't care if you were in the film or not."

Miami Herald also reported that Chris Petrikin, a spokesman for the studio, confirmed that they are looking into the matter.

"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," Petrikin said in a statement.

New Mexico Film Office director Nick Maniatis said that his agency will also be working with Fox to retrieve the items, which, at this point, were not yet named. "If artifacts were taken, we believe they should be returned immediately. Twentieth Century Fox has been extremely cooperative and shares the Film Office's concern and sensitivity toward the matter," Maniatis said.

What do you think about the cast members' blatant disregard for rules? Do you think this will have severe consequences for the final installment in the series called "The Death Cure"?