By Matthew Jackson, Source: Blastr.com
That Ender’s Game flick is moving right along with casting. Now that Hugo’s Asa Butterfield is definitely on board for the title role, it’s time to turn our attention to the pivotal role of Ender’s mentor, Colonel Hyrum Graff. Among the names in contention is none other than sci-fi god Harrison Ford.
Variety confirmed yesterday that Butterfield is definitely on board for the flick, the story of a young solider in training at the International Fleet, a futuristic battle academy where he goes to war with other trainees. Ender is the trainee, and now producers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, Ender author Orson Scott Card and director Gavin Hood (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) need to find the trainer.
Variety reports that Viggo Mortensen was among the first names considered for Graff, but those talks “didn’t work out.” Now they’re looking to fill the role with other big names, and Ford seems to be on the list.
None of the other names in contention are mentioned in the piece, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t quite a few. Graff, the mentor figure and professor of space war in one of the most beloved sci-fi franchises of all time, is definitely going to be a role quite a few actors want, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see a long decision-making process here. Still, if he said yes, could you possibly get any better than Ford?
It’s by no means a sure thing, but if he’s on board it would be Ford’s first outer space sci-fi flick since Return of the Jedi in 1983, and after the less than impressive sci-fi efforts of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Cowboys & Aliens, it would be a chance for him to return to form.
What do you think? Is Ford the perfect Graff? And if he says no, who else can fill those space boots?
