Producers Shopping 'Ender's Game' Script

Several major studios and financing companies heard a pitch today for anEnder’s Gameadaptation written and to be directed by Gavin Hood (X-Men Origins: Wolverine,Tsotsi) and produced by Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci (Star Trek,Transformers,“Fringe“).

According to theHollywood Reporter, the sci-fi package“hit nearly every studio” including Warner Bros, Disney, and Sony.

But the Orson Scott Card novel is a tough sell to studios given its inherent price tag and dark subject matter. The story tells of a fearful human race preparing for another imminent attack from the Formics, a fleet of insectoid aliens.  To fortify their defenses, the international military commissions a “Battle School” to train gifted children, like the novel’s central hero, Ender Wiggin, who excelsand ascends through the ranks.

Then again, the 1985 book comes with a devoted following and a built-in series of five more novels to draw from should the original outing become a blockbuster.

The award-winning novel nearly received the silver screen treatment after Card himself submitted a screenplay to Warner Bros in 2003.  The studio attached two screenwriters (includingWolverinescribe David Benioff) to polish the script, along with director Wolfgang Peterson, but the project fell apart by 2008. Is WB serious about making the film this time?

Disney is also a curious choice, since the Mouse House tends to make family-friendly entertainment and this alien invasion thriller doesn’t exactly fit the criteria, especially if you’re familiar with some of the more shocking plot twists.

A likely home for Ender would be DreamWorks, where Kurtzman and Orci have a first-look deal that already includes the TV series“Locke& Key,” the first two Transformers flicks, and the upcoming genre mashupCowboys& Aliens. Kurtzman and Orci (or K/O, as they call themselves) are also behind the TV reboot“Hawaii Five-O” at CBS and are currently working onStar Trek 2for Paramount.

Follow-up meetings are scheduled this week, so fans should hopefully know soon whetherEnder’s Gameis getting a second flight.

Source