Not too long after its first film release back in 2014, which grossed over $100 million just in the U.S., Maze Runner is back with its sequel, The Scorch Trials. An adventure that gets more personal with the characters as they continue on their journey to detach themselves from WCKD and put an end to them once and for all. Entertainment Affair sat down with the actors during roundtable interviews in Beverly Hills, California and they told us about their experience in relation to last years film.

Similar to Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials is a 'world survival movie'. The actors told us they had the opportunity to shoot on location in Albuquerque and while some shots are CGI, their reactions are well captured on screen. The shoot lasted 58 days and the key cast underwent intense training, including boot camp in Albuquerque's mile-high altitude. Director Wes Ball who emphasizes on naturalism in creating this dystopian world, worked closely with the actors.

Dexter Darden, who plays Frypan -the one who keeps everyone together said, "Wes our director does a great job at giving us things to actually react to. So he really made it a point to make real Cranks as much as the scenery. Albuquerque is beautiful in general, but we don't get to see all the buildings behind. That's mostly CGI... Even in the first Maze Runner, the maze itself inside was CGI but the actual walls that moved, those were real." 

Dylan O'Brien who plays Thomas, the resourceful leader of his group, added, "We definitely had a more practical set to work with and we also had a lot more visual effects too." 

Kaya Scodelario returns as Teresa, the young friend of Thomas who shares a special connection. Both Kaya and Dylan confessed they added a few lines of their own to the film and explained the intimacy between their characters. "We wanted to add a moment of just humanity... So much of our relationship is based around having to survive and get out and we wanted to just take a second and show a little bit of love to each other," said Kaya.

Joining the franchise as two key characters are Rosa Salazar as Brenda and Giancarlo Esposito as Jorge. Their characters bring individuality and a special relationship to the film. One we had not seen yet in the first installation of the series. On joining the cast Rosa mentioned, "It was so seamless." Giancarlo agreed, "They welcomed us beautifully."

There is a big world waiting for Thomas and his fellow Gladers. As this story continues to unfold, we see how bigger the decisions become and how new and even more difficult situations arise. Giancarlo Esposito points out that while there are many "movies that are on the same beat, on the same rhythm, about the same kind of subject matter," what makes this film distinctive is that "Wes has a sort of a new and fresh vision on it and that he wanted to really develop character on this...and people really talking to each other. So this is gonna stand out from these other movies that are coming out." 

Agreeing with Giancarlo, Rosa also said that the message that truly echoes is "starting over." She said, "That message resonates right now especially because there's so much bad information being barraged at everyone... There's so much to be jaded about and these kids have that to the end of degree and they just want to survive and they have hope and they're banding together and I feel like that's the message... That's why it's resonating with these younger audiences 'cause they're the ones on their phone."

Both Esposito and Salazar commented on the feeling of hopelessness and how the new generations are feeling that more than ever. Rosa expressed that teens nowadays think, "'I feel so affected by all this stuff and I don't know how to express it,' and so they pick up James Dashner's book and they're like, 'oh this is expressing that feeling that I'm having of like hopelessness and lostness and insecurities.'"

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials opens in theaters this Friday, September 18th. Meanwhile you can find the book by James Dashner on sale now.