Wes Ball

Wes Ball (born October 28, 1980) is an American film director, visual effects artist and graphic artist. He is best known for directing the Maze Runner film trilogy, based on James Dashner's series of novels of the same name. Ball's next film, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, is set to release in 2024 as the fourth installment in the Planet of the Apes reboot series.

Wes Ball
Ball in July 2014
Born (1980-10-28) October 28, 1980
Florida, U.S.
Alma materFlorida State University College of Motion Picture Arts
Occupations
  • Film director
  • film producer
  • visual effects artist
  • graphic artist
Years active2005–present

Education

Ball attended Crescent City High School and graduated in 1999. He graduated from the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2002.[1] In 2003, he won a Student Academy Award for his short animated film A Work in Progress.[2]

Career

Ball got his start as a Hollywood filmmaker with an animated short named Ruin, which executives at 20th Century Fox saw and offered him the job to direct the adaptation to The Maze Runner.[3] The Maze Runner would be Ball's first feature film.[4] Made on a budget of $34 million, the film pulled in $348 million in box office receipts.[5] Not long after the success of the film, Ball signed a first look deal with 20th Century Fox under his OddBall Entertainment banner.[6]

Ball is attached to direct a film adaptation of Fall of Gods, a crowdfunded illustrated novel from Denmark-based Mood Studios.[7]

In 2017, Ball was hired to direct a live-action/VFX-hybrid adaptation of Mouse Guard, at 20th Century Fox with a script by Gary Whitta and T.S. Nowlin, while Matt Reeves, Ross Richie and Stephen Christy served as producers.[8][9] Production was expected to begin in May 2019, but following the Walt Disney Company's acquisition of Fox earlier that year, the project was pulled from production two weeks before filming began.[10][11]

In December 2019, Disney and Fox hired Ball to write and direct a new Planet of the Apes film, titled Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, as Reeves, director of the previous two, was too busy with his film The Batman to return.[12][13] More recently, his production company OddBall Entertainment moved to Paramount Pictures.[14]

In May 2021, Ball was set to direct The Time Runner, a feature adaptation of the novella of the same name by Michael Sherman.[15] In March 2022, Ball was set to produce a film based on a yet-unspecified H. G. Wells book.[16]

Filmography
Year Title Director Producer
2014 The Maze Runner Yes No
2015 Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Yes Executive
2018 Maze Runner: The Death Cure Yes Yes
2024 Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Yes No

Other credits

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D Pre-visualization artist Documentary short
2007 Pirate Master Graphics artist 1 episode
2008 Medicine for Melancholy Special thanks
2011 Beginners Visual effects artist
2017 Phoenix Forgotten Producer

References
  1. McKaig, Nick (September 23, 2014). "#1 Box Office film directed by FSU Film alum". Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  2. "Watch the Academy Award-Winning Short by 'The Maze Runner' Director Wes Ball". Film School Rejects. 2014-09-17. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
  3. Bahr, Lindsay (2015-09-15). "Wes Ball, Hollywood's new blockbuster visionary". Associated Press. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  4. Taylor, Ella (9 September 2014). "Film Review: 'The Maze Runner '". Variety. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  5. McNary, Dave (2019-01-28). "Box Office: 'Maze Runner: The Death Cure' Dominates With $62.6 Million Internationally". Variety. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  6. McNary, Dave (2016-01-27). "'Maze Runner' Director Wes Ball Signs First-Look Deal With Fox". Variety. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
  7. Kit, Borys (August 25, 2015). "'Maze Runner' Director to Tackle Norse Mythology With 'Fall of Gods' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  8. Fleming, Mike Jr. (September 7, 2017). "Fox Eyes Maze Runner's Wes Ball For Mouse Guard". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  9. Polito, Thomas (April 6, 2019). "Exclusive: The Maze Runner Scribe T.S. Nowlin Tapped to Write Screenplay for Wes Ball's Mouse Guard". Omega Underground. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  10. Kit, Borys; Kilkenny, Katie (2019-04-17). "Disney Scraps 'Mouse Guard' Two Weeks Before Production Set to Begin". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  11. Marc, Christopher (2019-06-26). "Director Wes Ball Reveals Stunning Animation Test Footage From His Cancelled 'Mouse Guard' Movie". HN Entertainment. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  12. Kit, Borys (December 3, 2019). "New Planet of the Apes Movie in the Works With Maze Runner Filmmaker Wes Ball (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  13. "Daniel Dorrance Joins 'Planet of the Apes' Reboot For 20th Century Studios (EXCLUSIVE)". Discussing Film. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  14. Fleming, Mike Jr. (2021-01-22). "Wes Ball Tethers His Oddball Entertainment Banner To First-Look Paramount Pictures Deal". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  15. Fleming, Mike Jr. "Paramount Lands 'The Time Runner' For Wes Ball To Direct; Steve Desmond & Michael Sherman Scripting". Deadline Hollywood.
  16. Grobar, Matt (2022-03-28). "Paramount Developing H.G. Wells Project From Wes Ball's OddBall Entertainment; Laura Gillis Tapped To Write Latest Draft Of The Script". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-03-29.


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