Those die-hard Ender's Game fans eager for the film to finally make its way into theaters may already be aware that the 2014 calendar for the film has recently become available for sale. The wall calendar includes a number of colorful images from the feature adaptation of Orson Scott Card's popular sci-fi novel. Of course, purchasing a 12-month calendar that focuses on a single movie comes with the risk that you'll find yourself tiring of Ender's Game images by about April. But the bonus of looking at the calendar early is that it includes some new stills from the movie, which doesn't arrive in theaters until later this fall. The above scan, as well as the ones below give us a few new glimpses at Ender's Game. Pictured above is Harrison Ford, who plays Colonel Graff, one of the authorities in charge of a space-set orbiting Battle School where children are training for the approaching war against an alien race. Also pictured is Nonso Anozie, who plays Sergeant Dap.
And pictured below, we have the titular Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield) standing in the mess hall. While the background and costumes are all noticeably sci-fi, the sight of a kid standing in the cafeteria, holding his tray and wondering where to sit isn't all that unfamiliar. It's a classic new-kid predicament, no matter the school:
The caption for the above image offers some additional details about this scene:
Ender (Asa Butterfield) looks down across the sea of kids in the Mess Hall watching the Battle Room Games scoreboard flash Game Over, and Bonzo Madrid's Salamander Army remains on top. Aware of the lingering Launchie, Bonzo tells Ender to keep his eyes on the floor and sends him to face a wall with a lone kid in a Salamander uniform.
April's image shows us a glimpse of class time for the kids at Battle school:
With Ender (Asa Butterfield), Bean (Aramis Knight), and Alai (Suraj Partha) the only passing scores on the Deep Space Navigation Test, Professor Behari (Jasmine Kaur) encourages one of them to step forward and educate the class on using the gravitational pull of the planet to slingshot fighter craft into attack position on the dark side of the moon"
Speaking of Bean, the young genius is featured in this small photo on August's page:
Arriving at battle School orbiting high above Earth, Bean (Aramis Kngiht) disembarks the Desert Salt Flats shuttle through the docking airlock, and hears a voice over the loudspeaker instructing Launchies (hew arrivals) to follow the yellow lights.
And in this photo, Ender is confronting Colonel Graff "for pitting him against his fellow Launchies on the shuttle ride to Battle School."
In Battle school (and even on the way there), pretty much everything that happens is a test, as the authorities are always watching and analyzing the students, trying to figure out which have what it takes to lead. The caption for the above photo also points out that "Major Anderson (Viola Davis) is amused, but resists a desire to challenge her superior's tactics with his young protege."
Here, we have this one, which shows Ender and some of the other Launchies suited up and awaiting their first trip into the zero-gravity Battle Room.
The caption for this next photo is a bit spoilery if you haven't read the book, so read the block-quote after this image with that in mind:
SPOILER ALERT
In forty-two battles nobody has beaten Ender's Dragon Army, a platoon of misfits and oddballs. Graff, pressured by Command School for a decision to promote the brilliant strategist doubles the enemy for the next maneuvers in the Battle Room. Whichever side gets a cadet through the enemy's gate unharmed will win, regardless of points scored. In a stroke of tactical genius, Ender stacks multiple rows of cadets in formation.
END SPOILER
The rest of the photos and captions can be seen in the Ender's Game 2014 wall calendar.
In other news, the film, which arrives in theaters November 1, received a PG-13 ratings, which indicates that, like the book, the film won't be entirely little-kid-friendly, despite its focus on kid soldiers. Read all about our trip to the set here, and view one of the recent trailers here.
Check out some other previously released high-res stills from the movie in the gallery below.
