However, THR reports that the Sci-Fi franchise about highly intelligent apes taking over the world is indeed in the works at Disney. Per THR: The Apes are back. Fox has brought on Wes Ball, the filmmaker behind the popular Maze Runner film series, to develop and direct a new Planet of the Apes feature, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. The move makes Apes one of the first historically significant Fox titles to get the redevelopment treatment since Disney’s acquisition of the storied studio.
Hiring Wes Ball as the director is an interesting choice. Yes, the first Maze Runner is a pretty solid film, but the second and third one didn’t exactly light the world on fire. Admittedly, Ball directed those films pretty well, it’s the screenplays that were a letdown. It will be exciting to see what Ball does with the franchise, especially if he has a great script to work with, which I’m desperately hoping for. The previous three Planet of the Apes films are great, so it would be a damn shame if the reboot/sequel turns out to be a middling affair. Wes Ball was set to direct another film for Fox, Mouse Guard. But two weeks before principal photography, Disney acquired Fox and shelved the project.
