In the action-adventure film Ender’s Game, the fate of planet Earth and the human race rests on the shoulders of the strategically brilliant but reticent young warrior, Ender Wiggin, played by Asa Butterfield (Hugo).

Set in the future, the film shows what happens after a hostile alien race attacks Earth. In the initial attack, the aliens are defeated, thanks to the heroism of International Fleet Commander Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley). Seventy years later, as mankind prepares for another attack, Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) and the international military, searching for a potential successor to Mazer, finds him in the impressive battle school recruit Ender. After being trained by Mazer himself, Ender is put to the ultimate test when he must lead soldiers into an epic battle, the outcome of which will determine the future of the world.

Based on Orson Scott Card’s best-selling novel of the same name, the movie is directed by Gavin Hood, best known for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Hood also wrote the screenplay.

Other familiar faces in the cast include Abigail Breslin, Viola Davis (The Help) and Moises Arias (from TV’s The Middle.)

In the second official trailer (below), the film looks powerful, with striking special effects. Butterfield is convincing as the gifted but not always confident Ender, who demonstrates courage beyond his years when duty calls.

Ender’s Game will be released Nov. 1, 2013 in 2D theaters and IMAX.