From November into December, BBC One aired a War of the Worlds mini-series that took place at the turn of the 20th century, which is when the source novel written by H.G. Wells was published. It was refreshing to see a period adaptation, since most adaptations of this story tend to be set around the same time they're made. That was the case with Byron Haskin's 1953 version of THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, that was the case with the 2005 Steven Spielberg WAR OF THE WORLDS… and it's the case with the eight episode mini-series adaptation that's scheduled to begin airing on Epix on February 16th.
Written by Howard Overman, this mini-series is a "contemporary re-imagining" of the story that begins when
astronomers detect a transmission from another galaxy, definitive proof of intelligent extra-terrestrial life. Earth's population waits for further contact with baited breath, but does not have to wait long. Within days, mankind is all but wiped out, with just pockets of humanity are left in an eerily deserted world. As alien ships appear in the sky, the survivors ask a burning question — who are these attackers and why are they hell-bent on our destruction?
Directed by Gilles Coulier and Richard Clark, the series stars Gabriel Byrne, Elizabeth McGovern, Léa Drucker, Natasha Little, Daisy Edgar Jones, Stéphane Caillard, Adel Bencherif, and Guillaume Gouix.
The show was executive produced by Overman, Julian Murphy, and Johnny Capps, and it first aired in France back in October. For those of us in the states, we only have a couple more weeks to wait for it before we can catch it on Epix.
In anticipation of the Epix premiere, a trailer has been released online and can be seen right here:
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