Ahead of the Friday release of "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials," Wes Ball has confirmed he'll return to direct the final film in the sci-fi trilogy.

“Ultimately our goal is to create an awesome three-movie trilogy,” he told Variety. “Not many people have done that and now I have the opportunity to do that. I am directing the third film and we’ve already been busy preparing and working on the final conclusion of this saga.”

Based on James Dashner's bestselling young-adult novels, the Fox franchise debuted in 2014 with "The Maze Runner," starring Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki Hong Lee and Will Poulter. Directed by Ball, the film grossed $345.5 million worldwide.

The third film, "The Death Cure," is set to begin production in December, in time for release on Feb. 17, 2017.