'Planet of the Apes' series to be rebooted by 'Maze Runner' director

A new movie in the Planet of the Apes series is on the way, according to reports.

Per Variety, the new chapter will be helmed by Wes Ball, the director of the Maze Runner trilogy of movies.

Ball made his directorial debut with The Maze Runner in 2014, making Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials and Maze Runner: The Death Cure in 2015 and 2018.

Though the movies didn't set the box office alight (takings of $348 million, $312 million and $288 million respectively), low budgets of around $60 million each made them likely profitable for 20th Century Fox, though all debuted to middling – to poor – reviews.

It's not yet known what form the movie will take, but the most likely outcome would be a sequel from the last movie, 2017's War For The Planet Of The Apes.

Director Rupert Wyatt rebooted the series with Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes in 2011, a critical and box office hit, introducing Andy Serkis as the sentient ape Caesar, and following a notably less successful reboot by Tim Burton in 2001.

In the reboot movies, a virus wipes out most of humankind, the survivors then battling rapidly evolved apes for control of the Earth.

It was followed by Matt Reeves' acclaimed sequels Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes and War For The Planet Of The Apes in 2014 and 2017, the trilogy making $1.6 billion at the box office.

Disney boss Bob Iger told investors over the summer that the franchise would be among those that would be rapidly rebooted, following Disney's merger with Fox in March this year.