Call it trial by fire for Dylan O'Brien.
Entertainment Weekly obtained an exclusive look at three new images from Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, the follow-up to the successful young adult adaptation The Maze Runner that hit theaters this past September.
The original film followed a group of teenagers who suddenly wake up to find themselves trapped in a vast enclosed landscape with a giant stone maze always looming in their direction. What secrets lay beyond the maze were unknown...until now, that is.
As it seems, things haven't turned out so great for the rest of the world: a massive solar flare has transformed humanity, and the villainous institute known as WCKD is behind the teens' capture, hoping to train them into becoming survivors.
As the teens venture beyond the maze, they come face-to-face with new enemies known as Cranks -- kind-of-sort-of zombies. Director Wes Ball, who helmed the first film and returns for the sequel, explains:
“We don’t want to call them zombies, but they fit into that category,” Ball said. “They’re not undead, but they are rage-filled.”
Producer Wyck Godfrey, who is also behind some of Fox's other young adult adaptations including The Fault in Our Stars and the upcoming Paper Towns, explained the angle for the sequel.
“The first movie was the mystery of ‘Where are we and what is this place? And can we get out?’," Godfrey said. "But the second movie is about the repercussions of getting out and the discovery of what the world is actually like."
O'Brien, who led the first film as kidnapped teen Thomas, returns for the sequel. The first film was a box office success, so much so that Fox green-lit a sequel in the film's opening weekend set for release less than a year later.
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials hits theaters on Sept. 18.
Image courtesy of Tony Forte/INFphoto.com