Confirmed: Asa Butterfield is Ender Wiggin

[Valentine]

Asa Butterfield announced his casting as Ender Wiggin this week. Feel free to post your thoughts on his casting, what his current age could be in the script given how he looks now, or anything else. I haven't seen him in anything else myself, but have heard nothing but good things about him, particularly with Hugo.

[Third]

He's far too old to be "young Ender", but at a good age for the end of the movie.

I know they're leaving a lot of the story line out, but I hope it's not butchered so badly that Ender doesn't age at all.

If it's done properly, this movie can be a huge box office smash and give Asa a ton of publicity.

[Valentine]

I forget where I saw it, but I read that they'd aged Ender up to 14, though I think they could get him to pass for 9 if they did things the right way.

[Ender Wiggin]

Delayed response, but oh well.

I saw Hugo recently and thought he was really good.  A lot of times when I see movies, the kid actors can have mediocre (or horrible) performances.  Star Wars: Episode I made my cringe many times.  Hugo had no such moment.  In fact I found myself not paying attention to the fact Asa is still a kid at all.  So as far as performance is concerned, I'm looking forward to the movie.

I always expect any movie adaptation to take some liberties.  Sometimes due to funding or the available options for casting I'd imagine options can be limited.  So I have no real problem them adding a few years to Ender (or the rest of the characters for that matter.)  I'm also not expecting to see a fat Graff towards the end either.  It being Harrison Ford and all.

[Valentine]

Yeah I think what people don't realize is that the younger the kids are, the less time they're allowed on camera each day. I went to a casting call for Hawaii Five-O once and she gave example and a baby can only be under the camera for 20 minutes a day, so they have to set it up, shoot it super fast and get it out.

Shooting with an entire movie with a bunch of six year olds would have taken for-freaking-ever.

[Alai]

Haha, if they started the movie with 6 year olds, and kept true to the story, they would have aged with the movie!!! Then again funding would have come in the picture. Reading all the information that I can find, and seeing that OSC has signed off on the script, as well as the cast, makes me happy, and I trust that this movie will be a Box Office Hit.

[Valentine]

Yeah and LG and Summit are pretty good by now at marketing YA so they'll get it out there and then hopefully have a great hit on their hands!

[Alai]

I think the timing in November next year is going to be tough. It could prove profitable because it will take place after the buzz from the final twilight movie, which makes it an open niche. However I just heard that they are in pre production for the second Hunger Games movie. If that movie comes out in the same time frame as Ender's Game, Summit could be in for hard sell. As much as I love Ender's Game, the plot line is a bit too similar for both movies to sell well. I just hope that there is an open niche when it comes out. Anyone have an Idea on the release schedule for the Mockinjay?

[Valentine]

The two movies are being made by the same company, as Lionsgate and Summit are now the same, though they still operate separately for the time being. Still, they'll probably have no problem marketing both. It's going to be a tough month for me, that's for sure, hahaha! (I help run a big Hunger Games fansite)

There's no news on the Mockingjay movies.

[vonsabrewulf]

anybody else surprised at who they chose to play Bonzo? The actor is much smaller than the actore playing Ender. So i guess there gonna have to use camera editing to make him look taller cause in the book Bonzo is obvoiusly bigger and taller than Ender

[Valentine]

Sorry for the late reply. I've wondered this myself, but I guess we'll have to see.

[enderwiggin]

Except for possibly the age, I think he will be an excellent Ender.

What a tough job to be the real-life version of a beloved fictional character of almost 30 years!

[Violamom]

I've watched Asa for years now, and he has a wonderful presence onscreen.  When I first heard he was cast as Ender, I was thrilled--although, honestly, I was picturing him as the young Mordred in BBC's Merlin.  Of course, so many of the pictures that are up now, he's way too old and too tall--but keep in mind they finished principal photography on this, what, a year ago?  So he was (duh) younger looking while the filming was going on.  The shot of him across the table from Petra makes him look very young and vulnerable.

Two things: I would much rather have an Ender who looks too old, but who can ACT, than an accurately aged actor who CAN'T.  I believe with all my heart that Asa will be wonderful as Ender, and his performance will make us all forget the age issue.

Secondly, if they *hadn't* cast Asa, my next pick would have been Thomas Horn, who's only claim to fame, literally the ONLY acting he's ever done, was in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.  I've never ever been so moved by a child's performance as I was when I saw that film.  He would have been an amazing Ender--or even Bean.  But...that's not the way it is, and that's ok. 

[Valentine]

I haven't watched him in anything except Hugo and a short bit of Boy with the Striped Pajamas. Was Merlin a good show?

[Violamom]

Our family greatly enjoyed Merlin...it was one of those "guilty pleasure" type shows we all fell in love with.  Think of a fan-fiction/alternate universe version of the Arthurian legend, then you won't mind the millions of anachronisms in it.    Asa was very good as a young druid boy who turns out to be Arthur's nemesis Mordred.  Asa was also the oldest son in Nanny MacPhee Returns, and was terrific in that film as well.