Ender's Game (2013)
- Gavin Hood originally wanted a completely different ending for the film, but test audiences preferred the one we see today.
- The incredible score for Ender's Game was composed in just a few weeks after the original composer dropped out.
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing Gavin Hood's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
Ender's Game is a 2013 American science fiction action film directed by Gavin Hood, based on Orson Scott Card's celebrated 1985 novel. Asa Butterfield stars as Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, a brilliant young boy recruited into an elite military academy in Earth's orbital Battle School to prepare for a potential second invasion by the Formics, an insectoid alien race that nearly destroyed humanity decades earlier. Under the demanding tutelage of Colonel Graff, played by Harrison Ford, Ender rises through the ranks through a combination of tactical genius, empathy, and willingness to make ruthless decisions, excelling in the zero-gravity Battle Room combat simulations that serve as the training's centerpiece.
The Battle Room sequences were the film's visual highlight, with cadets maneuvering in weightless combat games that were faithful to the novel's descriptions. The film's moral complexity β particularly its ending revelation about the true nature of Ender's "simulations" β gave it thematic weight. Ender's Game earned $125 million worldwide on a $110 million budget.
