First look at Harrison Ford in the adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Today, we have a new pic for fans of Orson Scott Card’s 1985 novel ENDER’S GAME…or for fans of Harrison Ford.  The first official look at Dr. Jones himself has arrived, featuring a scene from the Gavin-Hood directed sci-fi pic.  Ford squares off with Ender, played by Asa Butterfield (HUGO) in a scene described by EW:

“Asa Butterfield (right) as Ender, standing in line with other new recruits (a.k.a. “Launchies”) early on at his time in the Battle School. He’s facing off with the imposing Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford) over whether his emails to home are being blocked. It’s telling that the two characters are clashing over communication, since they’ve got major communication issues with each other. In the novel, Ender could never be sure whether Graff was manipulating him, or whether he simply saw great potential in him and wanted to foster it.”

“The relationship between [Harrison] and Asa was very close,” explains Hood, “but he didn’t overly befriend him off the set. He helped Asa by allowing that slight sense of intimidation to be there.”

Some fans may notice that the kids look a little older in the pic, which Hood addressed, saying “I discussed this at length with Orson,” says Hood. “The decision was made very early on to compress the time period into about a year, so that we could have the same actor from beginning to end… We were trying to hit that sweet spot right around 12, which Asa fits in very nicely.”  Hood continues, “When you sit down for two hours, you’re just beginning to bond with an actor, and then he changes and suddenly you’re bonding with someone who’s meant to be the same person, but you know he’s a different actor.”

As for the source material, Hood is all about assuaging your fears. “I am a fan,” he says, “and I have had a desire to do this and have been working on this now for nearly four years.” said Hood, who also addresses the controversial ending to the book. “That ending — and the complex moral questions that it raises — is one of the reasons why I love the book. I promise you that it is very much there.”

Here’s the synopsis:

In the near future, a hostile alien race (called the Formics) have attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander, Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), all would have been lost. In preparation for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young children to find the future Mazer. Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy, but strategically brilliant boy is pulled out of his school to join the elite.

Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters increasingly difficult war games, distinguishing himself and winning respect amongst his peers. Ender is soon ordained by Graff as the military’s next great hope, resulting in his promotion to Command School. Once there, he’s trained by Mazer Rackham, himself, to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race.

Having not read the book and knowing virtually nothing about it, I find this to be an intriguing project.  Since I’m not well-versed, I’m looking forward to discovering this for the first time onscreen.  Hood may have underwhelmed me with X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, but I think he’s got something to show still. 

ENDER’S GAME, starring Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, and Viola Davis opens on November 1, 2013.