Neighbors 2 first look: Zac Efron, Seth Rogen flex their muscles

“I could do a TED talk on how to throw a fake party,” says director Nicholas Stoller. “I’ve thrown at least 20 times more fake parties than real parties, and my real parties are so much worse.” Stoller had plenty of revelry to feign for this sequel to 2014’s Neighbors, which sees Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne reprising their roles as self-conscious thirtysomething couple Mac and Kelly Radner.

This time around, they are dealing with the sudden appearance of a sorority on their block — pledges include Chloë Grace Moretz and Selena Gomez — and the return of Zac Efron’s fraternity adversary, Teddy Sanders. “With the sorority girls, it’s like a glimpse into their daughter’s future, and it terrifies them,” Byrne says.

Among the barn burners created for the film are a disorienting hall-of-mirrors rave and a down-and-dirty Mad Max-inspired tailgate. “That one was both a lot of fun and a nightmare to shoot,” Rogen says. “Anytime I’m shirtless next to Zac Efron for really long periods, it even gets to me eventually.”

Neighbors 2 opens on May 20.