'Escape Room' ups the deadly stakes in first trailer for mystery box sequel 'Tournament of Champions'

The game is afoot once again in the first trailer for the Escape Room sequel, Tournament of Champions. Adam Robitel (Insidious: The Last Key) returns to direct the follow-up to 2019's surprise horror/sci-fi/thriller hit, which brought in over $155 million globally against a $9 million budget.

Having survived the events of the last movie, champions Zoey (Taylor Russell) and Ben (Logan Miller) hatch a plan to take down the organizers of the deadly escape room. Their plan is derailed almost as quickly as it begins when they're forced to compete against other previous winners in a second match of life-threatening puzzles that once again blend the likes of Saw, Hostel, The Game. And what the heck — since this is about returning victors, we'll throw some Mortal Kombat in there as well.

Check out the trailer below:

No, your ears did not deceive you. Miller was given the honor of working the title of the movie into the dialogue when he asks: "So what is this? Like a tournament of champions?" Deadshot couldn't have said it better himself! The cast also features Indya Moore (Queen & Slim), Holland Roden (Teen Wolf), Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan), Carlito Olivero (Step Up: High Water), Thomas Cocquerel (The 100), and James Frain (TRON: Legacy).

"We have a lot of ideas for a rich mythology," Robitel told Collider in 2019, referring to Minos, the monolithic entity behind the complex escape rooms. "If I was going to show any of the workings of the organization, I wanted to do it in an unexpected way, which is how the [first] movie ends ... It was important for me to end on a fun note that was like, 'Oh, what's gonna happen now?'"

There will be no escape when Escape Room: Tournament of Champions hits theaters Friday, July 16.