The cast is coming together quite nicely.

[Petra]

I must say, I'm very pleased with the cast so far.



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[Demosthenes]

I am too. I've heard some people aren't happy but I actually think the cast is excellent. I'm especially excited for Aramis Knight as Bean and Hailee Steinfeld as Petra, I think they're going to be great. And I'm very excited to see how Peter is portrayed. I wonder if they'll touch at all on how he develops in the later books, or paint him entirely as an antagonist? Either way, I'm really excited to finally see these characters come to life.

[Petra]

I agree with you; I'm aware that some people aren't too thrilled. I, however, am quite excited to see how this turns out. I love Abigail as Valentine, Hailee as Petra, Asa as Ender, and Aramis as Bean, in particular. I'm not too fond of the choice for Bonzo, but I think it'll turn out all right.

Stilson was just re-cast - He will now be played by Caleb Thaggard.

[Delphiki]

I wonder how much they will downplay the brutality of Ender's killings.. what is this movie supposed to be rated anyway?

[Petra]

Hopefully it'll be PG-13. Honestly, I hope they don't downplay it too much. If they do, it'll just be some cheesy fighting and it'll probably lower the quality of the film. If it's edited down to PG, it probably won't be as good because some of the book's incidences will have to be edited/removed.

[DragonArmy]

If they were going to stay true to the book, it would have to be R, I think. At least PG-13. But since their target audience is going to be younger people, they might drop it to PG and remove most of the violence.

[Petra]

I'm really hoping they don't drop to PG. It would have to be borderline on PG-13 if that were the case.

If they made it R, then I probably couldn't see it. And that would be immensely upsetting.

[Delphiki]

If they were going to stay true to the book, it would have to be R, I think. At least PG-13. But since their target audience is going to be younger people, they might drop it to PG and remove most of the violence.

Ahh, yes. My girlfriend's parents are fans of the book as well, and they agree any movie will probably ruin the story just for the fact that the characters are kids, so it will be aimed for children to see it. The book itself is a young adult fiction in my opinion, but you can't exactly make a PG-13 or R movie staring only children. Of course, Star Wars involved quite a bit of violence and children still love it.

[Petra]

I'm hoping it'll either be PG-13 or R. Even though I might not be able to see it if it's R, it wouldn't be some cheesy kids movie. The book is too good for that.

What do you all think about the casting change for Stilson?

Personally, I don't like it. They had Stilson spot-on with Brendan Meyer; he was unfriendly-looking, which was good. From what I know, he's a decent actor. I know nothing about Caleb Thaggard, though. Still, I prefer Brendan.

[Locke]

I think the casting for Ender is perfect. When I watched "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" a couple of years ago, I almost cheered with excitement when I realized the lead actor looked exactly as Ender looked in my mind. It was almost creepy just how alike his appearance matched my vision. So naturally I was supremely overjoyed to hear that the same actor would be portraying Ender all these years later.

I personally don't have much of an opinion about the casting change for Stilson. All I can hope for is that he's a good actor who does a good job. I also really sincerely hope the rating is at least PG-13. The subject matter is definitely not innocent or innocuous.

I think the adult cast is great as well. What do you think about Anderson being switched from male to female? I'm personally really excited about it. Viola Davis is a great actress, and it's nice to get some gender variety in this male-dominated book.

[Petra]

Asa Butterfield is incredible. Have you seen Hugo? I don't care how old he is; that was an Oscar-worthy performance. I think I literally screamed when he was cast as Ender.

Stilson isn't really a "major" character, so I guess the casting change doesn't matter too much. Let's hope he can actually act!

I love Viola Davis (she should've won that Oscar, but, you know, Meryl Streep is... Meryl Streep). I actually like that they're adding more female characters in.

I'll re-state what I said before about the rating: Let's hope it's not edited into PG. There's nothing wrong with PG movies (heck, a PG movie basically swept the Oscars this year), but Ender's Game isn't the kind of movie that should have the violence watered down. The fighting is actually a big part of the story because it shows Ender's resemblance to Peter.

[Locke]

Asa Butterfield is incredible. Have you seen Hugo? I don't care how old he is; that was an Oscar-worthy performance. I think I literally screamed when he was cast as Ender.

Yep! I saw Hugo and was blown away by his performance. He looks like he's got a promising career ahead of him, that much I know for sure.

I'll re-state what I said before about the rating: Let's hope it's not edited into PG. There's nothing wrong with PG movies (heck, a PG movie basically swept the Oscars this year), but Ender's Game isn't the kind of movie that should have the violence watered down. The fighting is actually a big part of the story because it shows Ender's resemblance to Peter.

Exactly. The fighting is essential to Ender's character development and all the mental struggles he has to cope with. If they don't include that level of brutality, then they're essentially missing the point of the story. Which would be a shame.

However, on the bright side, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are producing the film. That, in my mind, is a smart move. They were responsible for the Star Trek (2011) film and various other sci-fi related shows like Lost and Fringe (my personal favorite tv show), so they'll be sure to stick true to the science involved.

[Petra]

However, on the bright side, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are producing the film. That, in my mind, is a smart move. They were responsible for the Star Trek (2011) film and various other sci-fi related shows like Lost and Fringe (my personal favorite tv show), so they'll be sure to stick true to the science involved.

That's definitely reassuring!

I'll admit I was a little worried when I heard his was being produced by Summit Entertainment. That's the company that did Twilight, and those movies didn't turn out very well. However, they stuck close to the books, and the book itself was pretty bad. Underdeveloped characters, no link to the basic mythology themes, senseless plot, ect.

Although, Summit Ent. also did The Hurt Locker. That movie won, like, 10 Oscars a few years ago.

Ender's Game is extremely well-written, so I have hope that this'll turn out to be a great movie.

[Ender]

I'm mostly excited for Asa as Ender.

I reeeeally don't think they should've recast Stilson. Brendan as Stilson is a PERFECT fit. Caleb looks too....nice....and Brendan looks mean so, yeah. He's also a really nice actor.

[Petra]

Yeah, I thought so too. But the looks of the actor don't matter as much as whether or not the actor can actually ACT. Let's hope Caleb can. XD

[DragonArmy]

I was just thinking (uh-oh!) and I decided that I cannot wait to see the scene in which Ender first meets Mazer. If they do it like the book, that's going to be a great scene. Of course Ender gets bloodied up a bit, so they might tone that down, ultimately that is one of my favorite parts of the book. And Ben Kingsley/Asa Butterfield is the perfect pairing for that (at least based on how they interacted in Hugo).

[Petra]

I love the way Ben and Asa played off each other in Hugo. Can't wait to see that kind of thing again in Ender's Game.

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