For a long time, as a cost cutting measure, studios would often reuse footage to cut production costs. This practice was often seen in television shows. For instance, every time you saw the starship Enterprise in the classic ‘Star Trek’ series, it was the same footage. Also, in ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’, they didn’t reshoot the transformation sequences every time the kids turned into the butt-kicking heroes. There is even a technique in animation called rotoscoping where animators would trace over footage frame by frame to reuse that sequence. Disney used this technique numerous times to create films such as ‘The Jungle Book’, ‘Robin Hood’, and ‘The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh’. Now, it appears that this practice of recycling continues on today with the upcoming adaptation of ‘Ender’s Game’.

According to Cinemablend, Summit appears to have inserted some old footage from another movie into Gavin Hood’s new movie. To see the comparison, first check out the most recent trailer for ‘Ender’s Game’:

Now, look at this clip from Alex Proyas’ ‘Knowing’, particularly around the 0:25-second mark:

If you missed it, here are stills of the scene in question:

Ender’s Game

 

Knowing

Though put through a few filters during the editing process, you can see that the destruction is the same. Sure, some might theorize that the two films actually take place within the same continuity, but the reality is that this was a cost-cutting maneuver because ‘Ender’s Game’ reportedly had a budget of over $110 million. Naturally, they needed to cut corners where they could.

Also, this is nowhere near the controversy that author Orson Scott Card stirred up with his anti-LGBT comments. This sort of thing happens a lot in Hollywood and it’s a fun Easter egg for those who catch it. Plus, it’s not like they’re piecing together old footage to create a pivotal moment in the plot, so really it’s not a big deal.

Do you think that you’ll find any more recycled footage in ‘Ender’s Game’? Will you be keeping an eye out when you check out the film in theaters (if you’re not boycotting it)? If you spot something that you’ve seen before in another movie, make sure to come back here and let us know!

‘Ender’s Game’ starring Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Viola Davis, and Ben Kingsley is scheduled for a November 1, 2013 release.