Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will mark the fourth film in the rebooted Planet of the Apes series, featuring an underrated means of success at its helm. The fourth film was officially announced in 2022 after a prolonged state of development following its predecessor's release in 2017. After War for the Planet of the Apes was released, Matt Reeves began developing a sequel that was temporarily halted due to Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox.
Due to Reeves' commitment to DC's The Batman franchise, the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes film was announced with a new director at the helm, with a prospected release date of May 24th, 2024. Filming for the fourth installment began in October 2022 after a script was developed and greenlit during the COVID pandemic. Despite Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and Matt Reeves crafting great movies, especially the latter's overwhelming success directing both Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes, the new director is wherein Kingdom's secret for success lies.
Wes Ball Is A Great Choice To Direct Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes
Wes Ball's directorial debut in Hollywood came with the first installment of The Maze Runner franchise. Ball then followed this film with two sequels, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials and Maze Runner: The Death Cure. After the release of The Death Cure in 2018, Ball was hired by Disney to begin developing a fourth Planet of the Apes movie. From the varying impressive elements of Ball's directing with The Maze Runner trilogy, along with some other links tying him to the Apes franchise, the director is a great choice for the Planet of the Apes 4 movie, as Disney's first attempt after taking over from Fox.
How Ball’s Other Films Can Benefit Apes 4
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The first reason why Ball is a good choice for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes comes from his work on The Maze Runner franchise. One of the best aspects of the latter was how it utilized its setting to craft a very eerie tone. The tone and atmosphere were established through the dystopian/post-apocalyptic setting of the Maze Runner films. The first film was not as particular with this as it was largely shrouded in mystery, though Ball still greatly utilized the dread of the general premise to create an engaging atmosphere for the first film, which would work well for the fourth Planet of the Apes movie.
Notably, the two Maze Runner sequels were both set in post-apocalyptic America. While the latter two films saw a divided response, the atmosphere created by Ball was not the issue. The feel of dread, terror and even horror that Ball wrought from the post-apocalyptic landscape of the USA elevated the films to still be enjoyable despite the changes from the books and lackluster scripts. With Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes also being set in post-apocalyptic America, through the Simian Flu established in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Ball will feel perfectly at home crafting a film with a similar atmosphere and tone.
Wes Ball Has Connections To Previous Apes Director Matt Reeves
Outside of his work on the Maze Runner trilogy, another strength of hiring Wes Ball to direct the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes movie comes from his connection to previous Apes and The Batman director Matt Reeves. This connection comes from a canceled film project that both Reeves and Ball were attached to, which was also coincidentally affected by Disney's acquisition of Fox, only this time negatively in comparison to the promising outcome of Ball being given Planet of the Apes 4. That film was an adaptation of the comic series Mouse Guard that was set to be directed by Ball. Alongside Ball was Reeves, who was signed on to produce the film.
However, the film was canceled by Disney two weeks before production was set to begin, before Ball was offered the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes movie. Despite this, Reeves and Ball will have spent around two years working together on the film. This will mean that Ball will be conscious of Reeves' efforts with the earlier Apes films which will benefit Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes due to it following Reeves' films and Caeser's legacy. It is unlikely that Ball will want to tarnish his coworker's previous efforts and will direct the fourth entry to honor Reeves' entries, all while adding his own unique franchise twists.