‘Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials’ Trailer: There’s Some Scary Stuff Out in That Desert

First of all, can we take a moment to appreciate the way Aidan Gillen says “the scorch” in this new trailer for Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials? Now that we got that out of the way, the latest trailer for the upcoming YA sequel is better than the first, teasing out a sinister new threat known as “cranks,” and not the Jason Statham kind, unfortunately.

The first Maze Runner movie was surprisingly solid for a film that many assumed was another studio attempt to replicate the success of The Hunger Games (it is, but it’s still pretty good). Scorch Trials finds our young protagonists out in “the Scorch,” a sort of post-apocalyptic wasteland. The kids discover that the shadowy WCKD organization has some unsavory plans for them as they battle “cranks,” infected people similar to those in 28 Days Later.

In this next chapter of the epic “Maze Runner” saga, Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) and his fellow Gladers face their greatest challenge yet: searching for clues about the mysterious and powerful organization known as WCKD. Their journey takes them to the Scorch, a desolate landscape filled with unimaginable obstacles. Teaming up with resistance fighters, the Gladers take on WCKD’s vastly superior forces and uncover its shocking plans for them all.

Dylan O’Brien co-stars with Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Giancarlo Esposito, Lili Taylor and Patricia Clarkson in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, which hits theaters on September 18.