The Big Picture

• Wes Ball, director of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, emphasizes creating immersive worlds for audiences to enjoy.
• Ball's experience with The Maze Runner trilogy and his Apes movie has prepared him for handling the massive project of adapting The Legend of Zelda.
• Casting is instinctual for Ball, who trusts his gut when selecting actors, as he discusses the search for Link.

It’s all about learning and creating an engaging universe for filmmaker Wes Ball, who will next take audiences into the vibrant yet dangerous world of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes on May 8. In the past, the director stood behind the entire The Maze Runner trilogy, pulling audiences into a dystopian world filled with impressive effects. Up next, Ball will be backing the live-action cinematic adaptation of The Legend of Zelda, based on the uber-popular video game series of the same name. During a chat with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, Ball opened up about the fantastical world that he’s welcoming audiences into with his upcoming project, what he’s looking for in the actor who will play Link, and shared what he learned from his first four features that will help him handle such a gargantuan undertaking.

“The truth is, I think you learn something on every movie,” Ball says of his time in the industry, adding:

“The Maze Runner movies were a huge training ground for me just in terms of execution and working in the studio system and dealing with actors. It was my first time working with actors, all that kind of stuff. This is only my fourth movie so I’ve learned a ton on this movie in particular.”

At the end of the day, the director says it’s all about the experience that you can deliver to your audience. When asked if he picked up any specific skills in making Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes that might help him with Zelda he said: “There’s nothing specific other than just put money on the screen, try to tell a good story, and create a world that people want to visit. That’s what we’ll take forward.”

The Search For Live-Action Link

Yes, the game and film are both titled The Legend of Zelda, but almost anyone who knows remotely anything at all about the storyline knows that the character Link is really the main player. Because of this, Ball will need to be especially choosey of who he casts in the fan-favorite role. Speaking about his background in casting, having worked in the past with such notable names as Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner franchise) and Owen Teague (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes), Ball explained:

“Casting for me is— I always work with awesome casting directors. That’s the start. But casting is instinct for me. I don’t overanalyze it. Almost all the casting I’ve ever done so far has been, ‘That’s them!’ I almost know immediately. The only one I didn’t was Dylan. [Laughs] I had to kind of work on that. But I don’t know. It’s like with Owen, almost in the first five seconds I said, ‘That’s him.’

So I kind of trust that instinct, and I don’t try to overanalyze it. And then, just find good people because you’re working really hard. It’s impossible making a movie, it’s really difficult, and you just want to be with people that you want to be around and that has each other’s backs. I’ve been lucky in regard with casting.”

As of right now, no casting announcements have been made for Ball’s The Legend of Zelda adaptation, but you can stay tuned to Collider for more information. Check out Nemiroff’s full interview with the filmmaker above and learn everything there is to know about Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes before it stomps into theaters on May 8.

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