The film adaptation of Ender’s Game invades theaters on November 1, and with less than six months until takeoff, Summit has begun its marketing campaign in earnest.
You’ve already seen Asa Butterfield and Harrison Ford as Ender Wiggin and Colonel Hyrum Graff. You’ve glimpsed Hailee Steinfeld as Petra Arkanian. You’ve gotten your first look a tatted-up Ben Kingsley as Mazer Rackham. And you’ve peeked at the inside of the Battle Room. But get ready, Launchies: the first official Ender’s Game trailer is here.
The clip, which just hit “the nets,” amps up the action and portrays Ender as the fearsome commander that fans of Orson Scott Card’s novel know him to be. We don’t see much of Ender as a timid launchie, but that’s likely because his journey was compressed into a single year for the film. Director Gavin Hood explained the practical change to EW back in December.
The trailer also touts the high-profile cast (see a full cast gallery), which not only includes Butterfield, Ford, Kingsley, and Steinfeld, but also Viola Davis, who’s playing a re-conceived version of Anderson, and Abigail Breslin as Ender’s sister, Valentine. Davis provided my favorite moment in the trailer with her cautionary line to Ford: “You really don’t see them as children, do you?” Those few words suggest that the novel’s theme of childhood manipulation has made it safely onto the screen in Ender’s Game — or at least I hope so.
For first looks at Valentine, the Battle Room, the fellow Launchies, and the inside of the the International Fleet’s space station, watch the clip below, but do so at your own peril. It’s VERY spoilery:
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