Last year’s The Maze Runner was an unusually superb YA adaptation, boasting a strong cast, gritty tone and intriguing story, so it makes sense that 20th Century Fox would push to capitalize on its success as soon as possible. And so, this September will see Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials hit screens, just one year after its predecessor. Luckily, the intense first trailer for the pic doesn’t give any indication that the franchise has dropped the ball in this second installment.
Again starring Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Patricia Clarkson, The Scorch Trials picks up after Thomas (O’Brien) and the rest of the Gladers have been “rescued” from the Maze by a secret organization. Realizing they’ve fallen into the clutches of the same people who put them in the maze in the first place, Thomas stages a jailbreak, leading his friends out into an unfamiliar landscape known as the Scorch.
From the looks of it, the franchise is getting a lot more dystopian in this sequel. The first film was set entirely inside of a giant, mysterious maze, but the second reveals the world outside to be a shell of its former self, decimated by some terrible disaster. It all looks very exciting, and with Fox sticking to the same sort of release plan as it did for The Maze Runner, the studio appears to have another hit on its hands.
Wes Ball again directs, from a script by T.S. Nowlin. Expectations are high for The Scorch Trials – a third installment has already been penciled in for 2017. As for now, though, the sequel will arrive September 18.
