Ender’s Game, the upcoming sci-fi movie based on the book series by Orson Scott Card, debuted it’s second official trailer today. The movie stars Asa Butterfield as Ender Wiggin, a boy who is trained to help save the humans in a war against aliens. It also features Harrison Ford as Colonel Hyrum Graff, Ender’s commanding officer, and Ben Kingsley as Mazer Rackham, Ender’s training partner.
The trailer shows that the film may be taking a darker turn than the book series. Wired reports that director Gavin Hood seems to be focusing his film on the challenges that are necessary to turn children into soldiers. This differs from the book, and it will be interesting to see how fans react to the changes.
The film has been getting a lot of attention from gay right’s groups, who are protesting the book’s author, Orson Scott Card, for his anti-gay views. As previously reported, Card’s insensitive comments have led to a Skip Ender’s Game campaign, which encourages people not to see the movie in theaters, and even to picket its release.
At Comic Con, producer Roberto Orci addressed the issue. “Rather than shy away from this, I would reiterate that we support LGBT rights, and human rights,” he said.
Ford added, “I am aware of [Card’s] statements admitting the question of gay marriage is a battle that he lost and he admits that he lost it. I think we all know that we’ve all won. That humanity has won. And I think that’s the end of the story.”
Both Orci and Ford stressed that Card’s stance on gay rights should not affect whether or not people see the film, especially since one of its main themes is tolerance.
The movie also stars Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis, and Abigail Breslin. Ender’s Game opens in theaters on November 1.
See the new Ender’s Game trailer.