34 year-old director Wes Ball sort of came from nowhere with last year's The Maze Runner, but delivered a solid film and more importantly $340 million at the worldwide box-office. Fox quickly tapped him to direct the sequel, The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials, and now, with that in the can, they've roped the young film-maker in for a third gig. This time he'll be stepping away from YA fiction and into the realm of Norse mythology for Fall of Gods. Fall of Gods is based on an illustrated book by Michael Vogt, which came into being through Kickstarter. Vogt pitched the story with accompanying concept art, and it's this that caught Fox's eye and drove them to secure the rights. Vogt describes the book as follows:
"Fall of Gods is an illustrated book inspired by Norse mythology, following Vali, a warrior haunted by his past, but who has found peace in the arms of a woman. For years he has lived far from society, tending to his farm and trying to forget the battles he foughtand the crimes he committed. But one day his love disappears, and he must set out to find her. He will once again have to face the creatures of Jotunheim and the powerful Aesir. Suddenly, the man he thought he had buried deep down inside has risen to the surface once moreand he comes seeking vengeance."
Sounds pretty epic. It's worth noting that Fall of Gods would likely entail Ball working with a much larger budget (The Maze Runner cost a modest $34 million), but based on his past work, the director has the capability and imagination to pull it off. I particularly liked how gnarly The Maze Runner was in spots, harking back to a time when PG-13 meant stuff like Poltergeist and Gremlins rather than the watered down fodder of today. It'd be cool to see him apply a similar sensibility to a new world. Fall of Gods has no release date, but The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials opens 18th September.