The BBC is producing a brand new, three-part sci-fi mini-series, entitled “The War of the Worlds” based on the classic novel by H.G. Wells.
Whether it was hypnotic voice sound of Richard Burton's voice in Jeff Wayne's 1978 musical version, or that of Orson Welles in the famous radio broadcast in 1938, or Gene Barry and Ann Robinson fleeing from the Martian invaders in the 1953 film or even Tom Cruise in the 2005 movie adaptation, "The War of the Worlds" represents one of the most popular and most adapted works of contemporary science fiction.
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Now the BBC has released the first trailer for its new adaptation and it appears to closely follow Wells' original work.
Unlike previous on-screen incarnations, like Steven Spielberg's 2005 adaptation that took a number of liberties with the original story, or the 1953 movie which focused on Los Angeles, this new BBC iteration hopes to stay true to the period and setting of the original novel as it's the first version to be set in the same location as the original novel.
"H.G. Wells' seminal novel has been adapted for the screen many times but it's always had a contemporary (and American) setting. This is the first version to be set in London and the Home Counties during the Edwardian period," Craig Viveiros, the director of this new series, said in a statement.
Rafe Spall ("Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom"), Eleanor Tomlinson ("Poldark"), Rupert Graves ("Sherlock") and Robert Carlyle ("Stargate Universe") will star in the three-part mini-series. However, the characters that Spall and Tomlinson play are new additions to the story.
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In the upcoming mini-series, George (played by Spall) and Amy (played by Tomlinson) will try to make a life for themselves after George divorces his wife for Amy. However, they soon are forced to focus on simply trying to stay alive amidst the onslaught of an alien invasion. Graves plays George's older brother Frederick and Carlyle plays a scientist named Ogilvy. Peter Harness ("Doctor Who" and "Wallander") wrote the script.
"The version of 'The War of the Worlds' that I wanted to make is one that's faithful to the tone and the spirit of the book, but which also feels contemporary, surprising and full of shocks: a collision of sci-fi, period drama and horror," Harness said about the upcoming series in a statement,
The new mini-series will air on BBC One in the UK this fall. However, ITV Studios has distributed the show to a number of additional countries, so hopefully, it will air in the U.S. at about the same time. There are no official details as yet though.
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