First Trailer For Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials trades stone walls for burning sand

By Steve Smith Published May 19, 2015

Just when they thought they were out, they find out, well, they weren’t really out to begin with.

The first trailer for the sequel to last summer’s teen-themed dystopian blockbuster The Maze Runner has been released and it shows a lot more teens in peril and more adults trying to keep them that way.

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Maze Runner: Scorch Trials is based on the second novel in the New York Times best-selling series by James Dashner. In the latest tale we once again find protagonist Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) and his fellow Gladers under the impression they’ve escaped the hellish Maze. Unfortunately, Janson, aka Rat-Man (played by Aidan Gillen, who fans of Game of Thrones will know as Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish), has other ideas.

The trailer begins almost immediately after The Maze Runner ends, as Thomas and friends have found what they thought was a safe place to hide from the evil government organization known as WCKD. Thomas finds out there are other Gladers who survived the Maze; a lot of others, in fact. He also seemingly learns the truth about WCKD from Janson, but it seems that Rat-Man has ulterior motives when it comes to the kids.

Cue the second escape. As the remaining Gladers make their escape, Janson tells them that, although they survived the Maze, there is no way they will survive the Scorch. The Scorch seems to be a massive desert, with sands piling high enough to reach the bottoms of bridges. A series of quick cuts shows the kids on the run, chased by what look to be wastelanders and WCKD troops.

As one might expect, the look and feel of the scenes line-up with the action sequences seen in similar teen series such as The Hunger Games and Divergent, though tipped towards the Maze Runner’s own angle. Fans of the original film will no doubt get more of the same here, for better or worse.

The sequel stars Dylan O’Brien, Aidan Gillen, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Kaya Scodelario, Ki Hong Lee and Patricia Clarkson, with Barry Pepper and Giancarlo Esposito filling out the cast.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is set to release this fall on September 18.

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