Wes Ball is to direct an adaptation of the sci-fi novel 'The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August'.

The 'Maze Runner' director is to helm the film, which is based on an acclaimed novel written by Catherine Webb under the pseudonym Claire North.

It tells the story of Harry August, who is repeatedly born in the same life. When a rival with a similar ability emerges, he has to save the world.

Melissa Iqbal, whose past credits include 'Humans' and 'The Nevers', has adapted the story for the cinema. No casting announcements have been made as of yet, although Oscar-nominees Pete Czernin and Graham Broadbent have been tapped to produce.

Wes will also be helming a new 'Planet of the Apes' film, which was one of the first major Fox titles to be redeveloped after the Disney/Fox merger last year. It is unclear if Ball's new movie will continue the story of the reboot trilogy, which kicked off in 2011 with 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' or will be a complete revamp for the series.

The 39-year-old filmmaker has also directed the 'Maze Runner' series. The series began with 'The Maze Runner' in 2014, and was followed up by 'Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials' the following year and 'Maze Runner: The Death Cure' in 2018.

Speaking during promotion of the final film, Wes admitted that he and the cast were ready to move on from the franchise.

He said: ''It's good. It's happy. But it's sad. You know, I think we are all proud we have got to the end of this thing. It's something that we probably that has gone well beyond what we were anticipating and we first started this thing five years ago, we are so thrilled to bring this closure to the fans. And I think we are all kind of excited to move on to new things.''