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| Book | Film |
|---|---|
| Contains the story Ender's Game | Contains the stories Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow |
| Takes place in 2195 (Canon, from Jake Black in conjunction with OSC) | No specified date, although definitely in the future (Confirmed by Bob Orci) |
| The story takes place over a span of 6 years | The story will be compressed. "Time has been compressed impressionistically. Though we don’t specify how much time has passed, leaving it somewhat up to your imagination, it is clear that the time span is not as long as the book’s." -Official Production Blog |
| Ender is 6-years-old at the beginning of the story | Ender is 10-years-old at the beginning of the story |
| Ender is blonde | Ender is brunette |
| Valentine is blonde | Valentine is brunette |
| Peter is brunette | Peter is blonde |
| Major Anderson is male | Major Anderson is female |
| Major Anderson has no first name | Major Anderson is given the first name "Gwen" |
| Sergeant Dap has no first name | Sergeant Dap is given the first name "James" |
| Sergeant Dap's character is somewhat gentle and loving | Sergeant Dap's character is described as "a real hardass" |
| Sergeant Dap is white | Sergeant Dap is black |
| There are NO socks in battle school | There ARE socks in battle school |
| Bean is in a younger launch group than Ender | Bean is in Ender's launch group |
| Shen | CUT |
| Locke and Demosthenes | CUT |
| First and Second Invasion | A single "Great Invasion" |
| 40 soldiers in a battle school army | 14-16 soldiers in a battle school army |
| No reference to Mazer dying in battle | I.F. claims Mazer died in battle |
| Sister Carlotta | CUT |
| Achielles | CUT |
| 9, opaque, cube battle rooms | 1, transparent, spherical battle room |
| Scene not included | Asa recalls this scene "One scene that I really remember is a scene with me and Hailee (Steinfeld). We’re in the Battle Room. She’s hit her head on one of the floating objects. I’ve jumped out … I’ve disobeyed my orders and jumped out to catch her." |