You know a character with a badass moniker such as Mazer Rackham is gonna have serious style. Today Entertainment Weekly revealed the first photo of Ben Kingsley in the role of Mr. Rackham from the upcoming sci-fi flick, Ender’s Game and the matching visuals don’t disappoint. You can check out the teaser pic below. Not that a hip aesthetic is more important than character, of course. The tribal tattoo emblazoned across his gleaming bald noggin stems from a genuine Maori design which tells a person’s history through their inked visage. Kingsley told EW:
“Every gesture in the tattoo carries family history, family struggles – it’s your past. I was so enthralled. He’s in quite a contained, stylized uniform but then this wonderful face tells his warrior history.”
Kingsley’s half-Maori warrior is a part of Andrew “Ender” Wiggin’s story. Set in the distant future, Ender is trained at an off-planet Battle School in the hopes that he will become a valiant leader to defeat the Earth from a race of aliens called….errr…Buggers. The film, which is based on the first of Orson Scott Card’s classic Ender’s Game trilogy, could read like a hammier version of Hunger Games set in space. There’s vague thematic crossovers between the franchises, including the attraction of some stellar (geddit?) acting talent. In addition to his Hugo co-star Asa Butterfield as Ender, Kingsley co-stars with Hailee Steinfeld and Harrison Ford.
And if this image wasn’t enough, news also dropped that the first trailer is set to arrive online on Tuesday May 7th. The official Facebook page for the film has a timer counting down to the trailer’s arrival on YouTube and Google, which will be the same one which wowed audiences at ComicCon this past week.
After his villainous role in this week’s Iron Man 3 it’s gonna be killer seeing Kingsley venture further into fan geekery with Ender’s Game. Well, that’s what we reckon. What do you think?
