When “Serenity” hit movie theaters, author Orson Scott Card said that Joss Whedon was the ideal director for a big-screen adaptation of the iconic science-fiction novel, “Ender’s Game.”
Unfortunately, no one in Hollywood seems to be listening to Card.
The on-again, off-again development of one of the greatest novels (sci-fi or the otherwise) appears to be on-again. And the man who could bring it to screens isn’t Whedon but the director of “Wolverine.”
The L.A. Times reports that director Gavin Hood is attached to the project and is working on a re-write of the script.
The Times points out that this doesn’t necessarily mean that Hood will end up directing the project. However, it does mean he could direct it should this screenplay meet with approval and the project finally move out of development hell.
One thing in the film’s favor is that Hood is reportedly working with an independent studio on the adaptation.
Of course, even if the production does get off the back burner and into production, there’s still one big issue facing it–finding enough capable child actors for the film’s roles. If you’ve read the book, you’ll know what we mean.
And if you haven’t read the book, you need to do so immediately.
How to ensure that your sci-fi movie development property will utterly fail:
1.) Ignore the suggestions of the originating author
2.) Hire some guy with a proven failure record to rewrite the film
3.) Fail to see anything wrong with 1.) and 2.)
I’d rather not have Ender’s Game done then have Joss touch it. I’ve hated everything he has done.
You can bet one of the main characters will die if Joss gets involved.
The best thing for casting all those children for Ender’s Game is to take the casting out to Salt Lake City. They even have a studio there where they could film the movie.
Look for families with 3 kids of about 6, 9, and 11, who look enough alike to play the same child at a later age. They did this years ago with the actors who voiced Charlie Brown in Peanuts.