Asa Butterfield cast in sci-fi film Ender's Game

After years of production setbacks, sci-fi movie Ender’s Game is now finally being cast.

Asa Butterfield has been offered the lead role in the long-anticipated movie based on Orson Scott Card’s 1985 science fiction novel.

The 14-year-old, who has already starred in Martin Scorsese’s Hugo , will play the title role of Ender Wiggins.

Ender’s Game is set in a futuristic world where mankind is under attack from the Formics, an insect-like alien.

The government begins to select the brightest children to learn how to fight, testing their skills through a series of challenging games.

Andrew ‘Ender’ Wiggins is soon recognised as a talented fighter at the Battle School, and he becomes the earth’s main hope for the survival against the aliens.

The film will be directed by X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ s Gavin Hood and has been given a 15 March 2013 release date.

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