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Wes Ball is an American visual effects artist, graphic artist, director, producer, and writer. He is best known for directing the Maze Runner Films, the upcoming Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes film, and The Legend of Zelda live action adaption.

Education[]

He graduated from the FSU (Florida State University) College of Motion Picture Arts with a BFA in 2002. For his thesis, he created a 7-minute short film called A Work in Progress which won a Bronze Medal from the Student Academy Awards in 2003 for animation, although it contains both computer animation and live-action. The animation illustrates the story, while the live action shows the girl who is telling the story.

Past & Current Works[]

Ball got his start as a Hollywood filmmaker with the animated short named Ruin. The film was a commercial and critical success, with Ball receiving praise for his direction, which executives at 20th Century Fox saw, offering him the job to direct an adaptation for The Maze Runner. The Maze Runner would be Ball's first feature film. Made from a budget of $34 million, the film pulled in $348 million in box office receipts. The film was well received by critics, with Ball's direction and tone receiving praise. Not long after the success of the film, Ball signed a first look deal with 20th Century Fox under his OddBall Entertainment banner.

In 2013, Wes Ball was announced to return for The Scorch Trials Film Adaption, supervising T.S. Nowlin's script, after being re-hired to re-write the script from Noah Oppenheim.

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

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 who serve as producers. Production was expected to begin on 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, and was later cancelled.

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. More recently, his production company OddBall Entertainment moved to Paramount Pictures in a partnership. Wes Ball was then discredited as writer, but is credited as producer for the film along with his role as director.

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

In November 2023, it was announced that Ball would direct a live-action film based off of The Legend of Zelda for Nintendo and Sony Pictures, with Shigeru Miyamoto and Avi Arad producing the film.

Filmography[]

Film[]

  • The Maze Runner (2014) (Director)
  • Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) (Director, Executive Producer)
  • Phoenix Forgotten (2017) (Producer)
  • Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018) (Director, Producer)
  • Kingdom of The Planet of the Apes (2024) (Director, Producer)
  • The Legend of Zelda (TBA) (Director)
  • Fall of Gods (TBA) (Director)
  • The Time Runner (TBA) (Director)
  • Untitled H.G. Wells Adaption (TBA) (Producer)

Short[]

  • A Work in Progress (2002) (Director, Writer)
  • Ruin (2000's) (Director, Writer)
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