Quite a few sci-fi properties have kicked around Hollywood for years, but recently one of the long-gestating book to film adaptations that seemed to have a shot was Ender’s Game. Based on Orson Scott Card’s novel, the film would have been directed by Wolfgang Peterson as a big-budget affair, but as we wrote in April of last year, Peterson left the project.
Now the LA Times says the film was scrapped entirely back in November. (The paper writes as if Peterson was then still a part of the film, so I’m not sure if they’re wrong or if io9, our original source for the April story, jumped the gun.)
Card was evidently unhappy with the direction the film was taking, which caused the shutdown. The author said he was not interested in a “tough-hero action film” and
refuses to condescend to green-screen Hollywood. Card imagines a “film
where the human relationships are absolutely essential — an honest
presentation of the story.”
This info comes by way of an article to coincide with the release of Card’s novel Ender In Exile, which describes the ‘lost years’ between the end of his original novel and the first sequel, Speaker For The Dead. Exile sounds a lot like First Blood, which is approrpiate and almost interesting. (“The real question,” Card says, “is how do you make good people into killing machines and bring them back into full citizenship?”) But it’s also funny as hell. I can think of nothing more appropriate than seeing the gay-hating, Iraq War-loving Card’s character eventually spawning something like Rambo: First Blood Part II. I suspect that’s where his interests really lie, despite all assertions about relationships and character.
But fear not, fans of Ender. Marvel Comics is running full speed ahead with a comic book adaptation of Ender’s Game. The LAT notes that it may eventually become the basis for a film adaptation of the story…more true irony for you to enjoy.