Wes Ball, Joe Hartwick And Their OddBall Entertainment Ink With CAA

EXCLUSIVE: The Maze Runner filmmakers and their OddBall Entertainment studio have signed with CAA, we can tell you.

Wes Ball and Joe Hartwick recently signed a three-year, first-look deal with Sony Pictures where they are respectively attached to direct and produce the live-action adaptation of The Legend of Zelda based on the uber-hit 150M copy selling video game franchise, for Sony and Nintendo. Derek Connolly (Jurassic World) is penning the adaptation. The game follows the elf-like warrior Link and elegant Princess Zelda as they fight to save the magical land of Hyrule from Ganon, an evil warlord-turned-demon king. 

Ball most recently directed, with Hartwick producing, 20th Century Studios’ Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, one of the key pics last summer to resuscitate the box office after a sleepy frame due to the strikes; that installment opening to $58.4M stateside and grossing over $171M domestic, and close to $380M worldwide. The film recently received an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects. Ball and Hartwick are attached to direct and produce the sequel, which is currently in development.

Ball made his debut with the groundbreaking animated short film Ruin, which led to his feature directorial debut, the feature adaptation of the James Dashner YA novel, The Maze Runner starring Dylan O’Brien, Will Poulter and Kaya Scodelario. The pic grossed $348 million worldwide. 

Ball would go on to direct and produce the next two chapter, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials and Maze Runner: The Death Cure, the trilogy earning more than $1 billion at the box office.

Ball, Hartwick, and OddBall continue to be represented by Rick Genow at Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.