Years of stagnant development only makes the sudden push toward an Ender’s Game movie all the more difficult to process. One day it only has Gavin Hood and Summit on board, the next (few months later), Asa Butterfield joins, Harrison Ford is wanted, and the actress responsible for one of last year’s best performances lands a key role. Funny how that happens.

THR now tells us that Butterfield‘s Hugo co-star, Ben Kingsley, is circling a role described as “a legendary war hero presumed to be long dead.” Sounds an awful lot like the part Ford was being pursued for, though a quick Wikipedia search (it’s a valid source, you guys) gives me the idea that it isn’t. Maybe Dr. Jones isn’t out of the picture just yet. We’re here to talk about Kingsley, though, and it goes without saying that he should be able to do some great work here. Alright, I know a few will be a little unsure about him, coming out of a decade that brought Bloodrayne and The Love Guru, but I imagine those same people haven’t seen Hugo, where gave one my favorite turns by any actor in 2011.

Card‘s original, seminal novel follows Ender Wiggin, a young boy chosen to lead humanity in a war against “the buggers,” an alien race systematically wiping out humanity. The big challenge lying before our protagonist is if he can save them before it all goes to hell.

Shooting on Ender’s Game will begin in February, and the film is set to open on March 15th, 2013.

Would you be happy to see Kingsley in Ender’s Game?