When From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series premiered on El Rey in 2014, the series was tasked with redefining iconic moments from the cult classic Quentin Tarantino film for a brand new television series. Once the show revisited those moments, however, the series became its own. Now, just in time for season 2, we spoke with star D.J. Cotrona about the differences between the first and second season. As he explained, the series is officially on their own track.

“Season 1, yeah, was a reimagining and, you know, in parts we re-tread a couple moments to remind the audience of the world and the story and the characters and we left the road kind of wide open for the second season,” he explained.

“The great thing about this project is [that] no one writes better or more iconic characters than Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, and the only thing I want as a fan when I watch those films is to see those characters more in more scenarios, and I think the characters in this project are prime examples of that.”

Cotrona continued, expanding on what fans can look forward to this season, saying, “You know, the dynamic between Seth and Richie that was so established in the first season gets turned on its head. We take Seth, for example, who is the leader, the mouthpiece, the showman, the guy in front, the man with the plan, and we go, ‘What happens to that guy when he’s completely thrown in the dirt, when everyone’s left him, he’s got nothing left, he’s literally been through Hell, and he’s at his absolutely lowest point?

And, in turn, what happens when his brother, the one who’s always been under his shadow, kinda takes a step forward into the forefront and has a little more control and power than he’s used to?’ So, that plays out pretty strongly in the second season and then the arc of those two characters, along with everyone else’s, is huge. We go through so many crazy scenarios and so many changes and Seth’s journey in this one is pretty epic: from absolute bottom to an entirely different place. So, it was a lot of fun to play.”

At the end of season one, Seth finds himself separated from Richie, his brother and partner-in-crime. Where does Cotrona see his character headed this time around?

“Hell exists and he’s been through it, his brother’s gone and ripped away by it,” Cotrona explained. “He’s a career criminal that just wanted to make some money and escape to the good life and now he’s alone, he’s broke, and he’s stuck with a 15-year-old girl, which is super interesting. We have an adult male career criminal — this ruthless guy — and he’s stuck with this innocent 15-year-old girl; two people that could not be more opposite, and at the end of the season, they’re the only two that that have anything in common. So that was a lot of fun.”

For his character this season, Cotrona explained, he’s dealing with a lot of change. “…Seth’s journey and what he’s trying to do, I think, it starts as a man trying to rebuild himself,” said Cotrona. “What would it look like when a man gives up and what does it take for him to wake up and rebuild himself and kind of wake up back to the world and get himself back on track and pursue the things that are important to him and try and fight for what he wants to get? So I think that’s definitely Seth’s journey for Season 2.”

In addition to the new arcs, Cotrona teased the addition of another Rodriguez regular, Danny Trejo: “I know Danny Trejo comes on this season as a very cool, interesting character who pursues myself and others throughout the season and they had a lot of fun with Danny, so I think fans of Danny will be really happy with what happens to him.”

Dusk Returns, the one-hour season 2 preview special, airs on Tuesday, July 7 at 8PM ET only on El Rey. From Dusk Till Dawn returns with the season 2 premiere directed by Robert Rodriguez on Tuesday, August 25 at 9PM ET.