Formerly a small-time director with few credits, Wes Ball found himself thrust into the spotlight following the success of The Maze Runner trilogy. The movies, adapted from James Dashner’s young adult book series of the same name, star Dylan O’Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, Kaya Scodelario, and I Hong Lee and function as Ball’s first foray into blockbuster filmmaking.
We recently spoke with Ball about the Blu-ray release of the franchise’s final film, The Death Cure, on May 28th. Ball spoke openly and happily about adapting Dashner’s story and how the experience helped shape him as an up-and-coming filmmaker.
STARBURST: What drew you to the Maze Runner franchise?
Wes Ball: First, it was just that a studio offered me something to look at to direct. Just that alone was a lot. I kinda went away and read the book and what immediately connected to me was that it had some mystery. It’s a great concept. A kid wakes up in a giant maze and finds a way out. And then there was that kind of brotherhood thing. That Lord of the Flies little community that they had built for themselves and how they banded together to survive these crazy circumstances. That was what kind of hooked me in. Then I gave them a pitch and the rest is history.
The thing about James that was really cool was that he had this flexibility to make the changes we needed and make something that works on a movie screen. Some things in a book don’t really work in the language of a film. James was always very gracious to let us do our thing. Obviously, we always had him there as a resource to make sure we weren’t contradicting the book or violating something we didn’t understand.
What parts of the books did you feel wouldn’t translate to a screen? For example, I know that Aris was a much bigger part of The Scorch Trials than he was in the movies.
That character, in particular, was almost like another Thomas. That’s the way I read him in the books. We couldn’t support that. Even in the second movie, there are a lot of characters standing around that are kind of these strapping young men. We needed a little brother character. We tweaked that a little bit. That brings me back to the changes we made in the first movie. The maze was all underground and a virtual sky overhead and when I originally came on to the movie, my approach was to do something that felt very grounded and real. That meant taking the whole virtual thing out. It was stuff like that, which ripples through all the movies but hopefully still holds true to that core of the protagonist and his friends trying to find a way home.
There are a ton of emotional moments in this series. You’ve got Chuck, Newt, and Winston dying. You’ve got all these characters who are just kind of being picked off. Which one hit you the hardest?
It’s tricky. Most of them are all in the books. We knew that the Newt thing was going to be an important one. Fans are all waiting for that knowing that it was going to happen. So how do we do it justice? How do we do it so we send him off rather than just kill him off? Make it the peak of drama for almost the entire series, something that’s really cinematic and interesting. It’s intense dramatically and emotionally. It’s the last movie that has most of the emotional, dramatic beats. I remember on that first movie (being my first movie too), there was that scene with Chuck. It’s fun to be there when everyone is in that raw space, essentially saying goodbye. That had a particular resonance.
We always found Newt to be Thomas’s rock, which is a role that other characters like Minho didn’t really play.
Here’s what I saw: Minho was the badass warrior who needs a general. That’s Thomas. Someone who gives him a direction. Thomas had Newt, who was kind of the person who says, “Wait. Let’s think about this.” He’s the brains. He’s the person who makes sure they’re making the right choice. You’ve got this reckless nature in Thomas, who needs Newt to kind of keep him making the right decisions. And then, like I said, you’ve got Minho, who’s like, “Tell me where to go and I’m there for you.” It’s how we introduced him in the first movie. He was this character who literally abandoned Thomas in the maze. He chickened out. He actually talked to him when they survived that night in the maze. He says, “I tucked tail and ran while he stayed.” That was the moment for him to always follow Thomas everywhere. It’s a cool dynamic within that core group.
Which of Dashner’s other stories would you be interested in adapting? Any talks to do Eye of Minds or anything like that?
Not me personally. I can’t say I’ve actually read those stories. I obviously know of them very well. I’ve got other things I’ve been messing around with. I’m kind of moving on for a little bit.
Can you reveal some of what you’re doing?
Well, there’s this Mouse Guard comic that I’m adapting. It’s a very, very cool movie and I’m probably going to do it with Matt Reeves, director of the Planet of the Apes movies. We’re going to do something that’s very different and much bigger. It’s basically a big giant fantasy epic adventure with fighting mice. We’re writing the script and developing the technology to make it. It’s kind of fun that I’ve made three movies attached to the same universe and I’m extremely fortunate to have the opportunity. I’m also excited to move on to different stories.
MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH CURE is released on VOD on May 21st and DVD, Blu-ray on May 28th.
