H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds is a masterpiece of extraterrestrial science fiction that has seen well-crafted adaptations come to the big screen over the decades. From the very classic 1953 version done by Byron Haskin that saw martians drop down into California, to the more recent 2005 rendition brought to life by legendary director Steven Spielberg, this quintessential alien invasion tale has been a fixture of fascination among audiences for many years. Now, yet another reprisal of Wells' story is being produced by Vertical Entertainment. Titled War of the Worlds: The Attack, a trailer for the feature film has dropped ahead of its late April release date.
War of the Worlds: The Attack is the newest rendition of the sci-fi classic that's being helmed by Junaid Syed in his directorial debut. He also co-wrote the script with Tom Jolliffe, and co-produced alongside Hayley Medwell and Jatinder Kumar Bhardwaj. Arun Kumar serves as executive producer. Starring in the film are Sam Gittins, Vincent Regan, Alhaji Fofana, Lara Lemon, Stefan Boehm, Rosie Steel and Leo Staar.
Firsthand Look at an Alien Invasion in the British Countryside
The trailer opens with a sequence of terrifying clips of the initial alien invasion that comes to Earth, wreaking havoc and destruction in its wake. One of the main characters narrates some of the most notable lines from Wells' original novel that have often been echoed in each cinematic adaptation. "Before it happened, no one would have believed that our world was being watched. And yet, across the gulf of space, an enemy regarded this Earth with their envious eyes, and slowly drew their plans against us." The aliens themselves appear to arrive via meteors that crash down to Earth somewhere in the English countryside, and then emerge within towering tripod machines that proceed to wipe out everything in their wake, including humans. Three young astronomers who first witnessed the meteors manage to barely escape the warpath of the machines, and try to work together to figure out how to combat the invaders and their machines.
Director Junaid Syed described how they wanted to bring a new vision of the classic story to a younger audience while keeping true to the source material and the nostalgia.
“The idea was to create a modernized version of H.G Wells’ War Of The Worlds while honoring and trying to stay as close to the original story as possible. It has nostalgic elements for the grown-ups and, at the same time, fresh storylines making it relatable for the younger audiences,”
War of the Worlds: The Attack opens in movie theaters on April 21.