VFX supervisor Erik Winquist has shed light on how director Wes Ball’s background in visual effects contributed to the Oscar-nominated CGI in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. The fourth installment of the Planet of the Apes movie reboots is set 300 years after Caesar’s death and follows young chimpanzee Noa (Owen Teague) as he embarks on a journey with human companion Mae (Freya Allan) to determine the future of both species. The film made over $397 million worldwide and garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects.

In an interview with ScreenRant’s Grant Hermanns, VFX supervisor Winquist elaborated on how Ball’s prior experience with visual effects, notably from his work on the dystopian Maze Runner trilogy, enhanced the CGI in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. He also discussed their use of Unreal Engine and how they “share a language” while creating the visual effects for the latest installment in the Planet of the Apes franchise. Check out Winquist’s comments below:

Working on all of these films has been fantastic for all sorts of different reasons, and the thing that was really interesting with Wes is he comes from our world. I mean, he got his Maze Runner films off the back of an animated film that he did himself. So, the world of visual effects and 3D animation is something that he’s certainly familiar with. Obviously, he’s been directing for a number of years now, so he’s not actively on the box as much as then, but he’s still incredibly active.

He’s a huge fan of Unreal Engine, for example, and that was a lot of our kind of conversations at the beginning of this project. But I think the fact that he is familiar with the process of animation and visual effects made a lot of our conversations through the entire process, from prep all the way through to finish, really easy.

We share a language, in that sense, so I didn’t have to spend a lot of time trying to explain where we are with this particular sH๏τ, or why it looks the way that it does at this stage, he gets that innately.

So, because of that, because he’s one of us, so to speak, I think there was a camaraderie within the entire team that was working on it here at Weta. And everybody just understood that we were all working on something quite special. And the thing that’s also beautiful, too, is just he’s got so much respect for the work that that we’ve done.

This is now his, I think he likes to say, three-and-a-half movies with us, not counting Mouse Guard that got canceled. But he gets our process, and he’s just so incredibly proud of the work.

For all of us to hear him shouting from the rooftops how proud he is of the work that was done on the film is just a huge pat on the back, and it’s kind of a beautiful contrast to so much of what we see these days, where filmmakers try to pretend that there’s no visual effects in their movie. It’s the polar opposite of that, and it’s so refreshing.

What Ball’s VFX Expertise For Kingdom Means

A Seamless Collaboration Between Director And Animation

Wes Ball’s history in animation and visual effects played a crucial role in shaping Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ CGI. Before directing live-action films, Ball gained recognition from 20th Century Fox for his 2011 animated short Ruin. His previous work helped him land The Maze Runner movies, where he first collaborated with Weta FX—the same studio behind Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes—to craft large-scale visual effects of dystopian cities, creatures, and mazes. Thus, Ball’s history in animation has demonstrated his ability to bring dynamic storytelling to pH๏τorealistic CGI.

Ball’s academy acclaim follows in the footsteps of previous Planet of the Apes reboot directors Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and Matt Reeves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, War for the Planet of the Apes). All the Planet of the Apes reboot films have received Oscar nominations for Best Visual Effects, but they have yet to secure a win. The visual effects studio behind Kingdom also handled special and practical effects for Alien: Romulus, which received its own Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects.

Our Take On Wes Ball’s VFX Influence

The Director Could Secure The Reboots’ First Oscar Win

Wes Ball’s background in animation gives Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes a unique edge. As VFX supervisor Erik Winquist put it, they “share a language.” The director was able to seamlessly collaborate with Weta FX and push the franchise’s visual boundaries to a higher standard. With Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes continuing the series’ streak of Oscar-nominated visual effects, Ball shows how a director fluent in VFX can elevate both the artistry and execution of a major blockbuster.