Though it’s been six years since Wes Ball made his directorial debut with “The Maze Runner,” the filmmaker has yet to create a feature project that doesn’t carry the YA franchise name. But with the upcoming “Planet of the Apes” reboot, along with his just-announced new project, “The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August,” it appears that Ball is well on his way to leaving the ‘Maze Runner’ past behind him.
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According to the Observer, Ball has been signed on to direct a film adaptation of the Claire North novel, “The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August” for Amblin Partners. The film, much like the book, tells the story of a man that is repeatedly born into the same life with the knowledge of all his previous lives. He then uses this immense knowledge to save the world from his rival, who has similar powers and aims to use the information to attain god-like status. “The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August” is being adapted by writer Melissa Iqbal, who previously worked on series such as “Origin” and “Humans.”
‘Harry August’ isn’t the only major film in development for Ball. Back in December, it was announced that the filmmaker would take the reins of 20th Century Studios’ upcoming “Planet of the Apes” reboot. There’s not a ton of information about that film, other than Ball’s assurance that the new ‘Apes’ film will continue the story from the recent trilogy.
Before his work on ‘Harry August’ and “Planet of the Apes,” Ball was probably best known for being the filmmaker behind the YA dystopian franchise, “The Maze Runner.” He was also supposed to direct a big-budget adaptation of the comic book series, “The Mouse Guard” for Fox, but that film was ultimately canned by Disney once the deal to acquire the rival studio went through.
No word on when we might see “The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August” hit the big screen. It’s also unclear if this project will happen before or after the ‘Apes’ reboot.