Ice Cube has never been one to trust the government much, but in the new trailer for a re-imagining of author H.G. Wells’ classic novel War of the Worlds, the rapper/actor slips into the role of top cyber-security analyst Will Radford at a time when his nation needs him the most.
In the first trailer for director Rich Lee’s adaptation of the 1898 science fiction classic about an attempted Earth invasion by Martians, Cube works for Homeland Security tracking potential threats to national security in the film in which much of the action takes place on computer and smart phone screens.
“The idea was organic,” co-producer Patrick Aiello told Deadline. “When catastrophes happen today, we experience them through our devices. That insight shaped the storytelling and tech used to create this immersive thriller. For the first time ever, a studio-scale sci-fi epic has been produced using a format that places audiences inside the action through the lenses of 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.”
Using a massive surveillance program, Cube’s character begins to wonder if the government is hiding something from the world when an unknown enemy attacks. In the trailer, a grey-haired Cube FaceTimes with his daughter — while monitoring her movements — and opening an ominous file about the government’s massive personal information collection as images flood in about a mysterious attack from aliens hungry for human data.
The film due out on Prime Video on July 30 also stars Eva Longoria, Clark Gregg and Andrea Savage. The beloved tale of humans vs. aliens has been adapted for the screen more than a dozen times, including a 2005 version directed by Steven Spielberg starring Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning.
Watch the trailer for War of the Worlds below.
