Gavin Hood‘s big screen adaptation of Orson Scott Card‘s acclaimed science fiction novel Ender’s Game is gaining steam, with Brendan Meyer being tipped to star alongside Hugo‘s Asa Butterfield. According to THR, Meyer, who made his name in the Canadian teen drama Mr. Young, will be playing Stilson, the antagonistic foil to Butterfield’s protagonist, Ender.
The film, which takes place many years in the future, is the story of Ender, a young boy who becomes embroiled in an intense military training program as part of a war against an alien race. The book is part of a series of novels following the course of the human war with this alien species, which is bent on humanities destruction, and the assumption is that this movie is the beginning of a franchise, so long as everything works out in its favor. The film adaptation was written by director Gavin Hood, who won an Oscar for his film Tsotsi before going on to make Rendition and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Between the beloved/acclaimed source material and the inclusion of strong younger actors this film has the chance to be something special. For me, the one weak point could be Hood, whose output as of late has inspired less than rapturous critical and financial response.
Ender’s Game is set to begin production early next year with an eye on a March 2013 release date.
What do you think? Is this movie on track to become the next big thing, or just another doomed franchise that will fail to launch?