According to First Showing, Summit Entertainment has confirmed that Steve Jablonsky is scoring the upcoming sci-fi movie Ender’s Game. The composer is taking over scoring duties from James Horner who was previously attached to score the film as reported earlier this year. The film is directed by Gavin Hood (X-Men: Wolverine) and stars Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Abigail Breslin, Hailee Steinfeld, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, Aramis Knight, Moises Arias, Jimmy “Jax” Pinchak, Suraj Partha, Conor Carroll and Khylin Rhambo. The movie based on the classic novel by Orson Scott Card follows a genius strategist who is recruited by the government to help destroy an insect-like alien race. Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek, Eagle Eye) are producing the project with Card, Gigi Pritzker & Linda McDonough, Lynn Hendee, Robert Chartoff and Ed Ulbrich. Ender’s Game is set to be released on November 1, 2013 by Summit Entertainment/Lionsgate. For updates on the film, visit the official movie website.
Jablonsky’s upcoming projects also include Peter Berg’s Lone Survivor starring Mark Wahlberg. He also scored Michael Bay’s Pain & Gain, which is currently playing in theaters.
I guess the rumors of this being a troubled production are true. From James Horner to Steve Jablonsky, sounds like a bad joke! Just completely lost interest in the film.
As a huge fan of Jablonsky I’m glad to see him literally taking over Hollywood. He’s rightfully one of the most popular composers at the moment. The man has a great talent for both big and small movies and I’m excited to hear his score for Ender’s Game.
What a huge disappointment! This was probably my most anticipated score of the year. Wouldn’t be surprised if Horner backed out himself as the film obviously has a lot of problems, I heard they let go some other key members working on the film as well.
Tragic news… I’m really tired of all this Zimmer clones: we want REAL composers!
Man, quite a few haters out there! ALL composers have their good and bad scores. For instance, Jablonsky’s Transformers, D-War and Steamboy were all really fantastic scores with great themes and melodic development. However, the same can’t be said of the trainwreck that was Transformers 2 and Battleship. Same can be said of Horner. Braveheart, Avatar and Titanic… wonderful scores. Apocalypto and Amazing Spider-Man, not so much.
I do have to say though, Jablonsky has been my favorite to come out of Zimmer’s studio in some time. He shows real promise.
Well said, Brent. Jablonsky’s been quite the busy little bee as of late, and I for one am happy to see him get so many high-profile projects. I loved his score for Your Highness, and while it’s an entirely different genre, it proved to me that he’s found his way out of Zimmer’s shadow.
I agree that Jablonsky should be given a chance. He’s been capable of delivering some good stuff under the right circumstances. That said, the news that Horner backed out is still a big disappointment to me.
Had a feeling about this, when his name never appeared on the credits. Jablonsky has never done anything remotely interesting – apart from trying to emulate Zimmer. Although he did try with ‘Gangster Squad’ and small portions of the much maligned ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street.’
Horner seems to be disinterested in the popcorn cinema formula of late – hence his decision to tackle smaller films like ‘For Greater Glory’ or ‘Black Gold,’ plus the upcoming ‘Romeo & Juliet.’ With the future arrival of ‘The Amazing Spider man Part 2’ and ‘Avatar 2’ he at least will keep himself grounded in blockbuster territory. It is bizarre from Horner: He just doesn’t seem to be as ubiquitous in the world of film as he used to.
I’m not sure this news is credible. The original source is a fan website that cites the studio but provides no sourced quotes, links, or individuals. The trailer just came out and I wouldn’t be surprised if that music was from a Jablonsky score (one of his songs was in a trailer for the last Star Trek). This apparently-unverified news seems even more suspect due to the timing so close to the trailer.