Ender's Game is a 2013 American military science-fiction action film based on Orson Scott Card's 1985 novel of the same name.

Written and directed by Gavin Hood, the film stars Asa Butterfield as Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, a gifted child sent to an advanced military academy in space to prepare for a future alien invasion.

The supporting cast includes Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis, Abigail Breslin, and Ben Kingsley.

Cadet Andrew "Ender" Wiggin draws the attention of Colonel Hyrum Graff and Major Gwen Anderson because of his aptitude in simulated space combat so is recruited into Battle School.

In a letter to Valentine, he confides that he is going into deep space, determined to find a suitable planet to start a new Formic colony with the Queen egg.

In addition, source author Orson Scott Card has an uncredited voice cameo as the pilot of the shuttle that takes Ender to the battle school space station.

Card explained that he had many opportunities through the 1980s and 1990s to sell the rights of Ender's Game to Hollywood studios, but refused when creative differences became an issue.

In 2003, Card submitted a screenplay to Warner Bros., at which time David Benioff and D. B. Weiss were hired to collaborate on a new script in consultation with the then-designated director Wolfgang Petersen.

[12] In an interview with Wired, Card admitted two obstacles in writing his scripts were being able to "externalize" Ender's thoughts and making it work, "for people who had never read the book.

[16] In October 2013, he explained that this "buddy-movie approach" between Ender and Bean was a proof of concept and once Hood took over he decided to use Petra as more of a major character.

[13] On January 28, 2011, it was reported that Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci would be producing the work and would begin presenting the script to prospective investors.

[26] Early in the film's development, in an interview in 1998, Card considered changing Hyrum Graff to a female character, recommending a "dry comic" such as Janeane Garofalo or Rosie O'Donnell for the role.

[34] The end credits song was recorded by The Flaming Lips featuring Tobacco, titled "Peace Sword", which was sold separately as an EP.

The book is filled with behind-the-scenes images of the making of Ender's Game as well as interviews with the producers, artists, directors, and cast.

Included with the book are nine Battle School army logo stickers, an ID Badge for Ender, and two removable International Fleet posters.

[43][44] The partnership with ICEE included releasing two limited time flavors: Battle School Blastberry and Orbital Orange, along with a "Train Like an Astronaut" sweepstakes.

[57] In July 2013, the group Geeks OUT boycotted the film in protest at Orson Scott Card's views on homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

In response to the boycott, Card released a statement in July 2013 to Entertainment Weekly: Ender's Game is set more than a century in the future and has nothing to do with political issues that did not exist when the book was written in 1984.

[62][63]Producer Roberto Orci responded in Entertainment Weekly in March that he was not aware of Card's views when he took on development of the film adaptation.

"[64] Lionsgate released a statement stating that "we obviously do not agree with the personal views of Orson Scott Card", while highlighting the company's longtime support of the LGBT community.

On February 11, 2014, Ender's Game was released on DVD, Blu-ray, VOD, and PPV, with an early Digital HD window beginning January 28.

[1] The film lost a projected $68 million for the studio, with Variety including it in its list of the "Hollywood's Biggest Box Office Bombs of 2013".

The critical consensus states: "If it isn't quite as thought-provoking as the book, Ender's Game still manages to offer a commendable number of well-acted, solidly written sci-fi thrills.

"[71] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times praised "the stunning and gorgeous visuals covering every inch of the screen" and describes the film as a "challenging adventure that should satisfy most young fans of the book while keeping the adults engrossed as well.

"[72] Marc Bernardin of The Hollywood Reporter is critical of the lack of empathy and shallowness of the story, and wrote: "If only adapter-director Gavin Hood's movie had been tempered with craft and care and wasn't such a blunt instrument, one that seems designed as a delivery system for CGI derring-do instead of the heartbreaker it should be."

Bernardin notes the zero-gravity battle scenes might have seemed to be unfilmable, and he commends the special effects, but says the film was unlucky to have come out so soon after Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity, which did it far better.

Bradshaw concludes: "The movie's apocalyptic finale indicates that it's bitten off considerably more than it can chew in terms of ideas, but it looks good, and the story rattles along.

"[74] Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com says, "The movie... is way too kind, and the drama suffers greatly for it...The film's biggest problem is a matter of tone and characterization: the characters constantly talk about how mean they can be, but their actions suggest otherwise.

"[75] Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News gave the film zero stars, and called it "one of the dullest, dumbest, most tedious movies this year.

"[76] Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal wrote: "Not only does "Ender's Game" have many scenes in zero gravity, but this zero-sum fiasco has zero drama, zero suspense, zero humor, zero charm and zero appeal.