Ice Cube & Eva Longoria's 'War of the Worlds' Re-Imagining Gets Release Date

A modern-day reimagining of War of the Worlds is set to hit Prime Video globally on July 30, with Ice Cube leading the cast in a fresh take on H.G. Wells’ sci-fi classic.

Directed by Rich Lee and produced by Patrick Aiello and Timur Bekmambetov, the film casts Ice Cube as Will Radford, a top cyber-security analyst for Homeland Security.

In his role, Radford monitors global threats via a mass surveillance system—until a mysterious extraterrestrial attack forces him to question everything, including the government’s involvement.

Eva Longoria co-stars alongside Cube, joined by a cast that includes Clark Gregg, Andrea Savage, Henry Hunter Hall, Iman Benson, Devon Bostick, and Michael O’Neill. The script is written by Kenneth Golde and Marc Hyman, with Charles Ancelle serving as editor.

According to Aiello, who spoke exclusively to Deadline about the project, the idea for the reboot stemmed from how we now experience disasters: through our phones.

“When catastrophes happen today, we experience them through our devices,” he said, emphasizing the film’s use of a “Screenlife” format—where the story unfolds through phones, computers, and tablets. “It’s a visceral, first-person experience designed for big screens in a language and format that is now natural within our daily lives.”

Bekmambetov, known for hits like Unfriended, Searching, and Missing, likened the approach to Orson Welles’ infamous radio broadcast. “Back then, he used radio, the most popular technology of the time, to make people believe the invasion was real,” he explained. “Today, that medium is the screen of our devices.”

Bekmambetov also recently premiered LifeHack at SXSW to critical acclaim, while his upcoming thriller Mercy, starring Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson, is set for a January release.

The project is repped by WME, with Ice Cube represented by UTA, Prospect Park, and Ziffren Brittenham. WME also reps Longoria, while director Rich Lee is signed with Paradigm and Anonymous Content.