The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...

'' (1898) is a science fiction novel by

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

, Surrey, England, who recounts an invasion of Earth by an army of

Martians Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. It became the most popular celestial object in fiction in the late 1800s as the Moon was evidently lifeless. At the time, the pred ...

with military technology far in advance to human science. It is said to be the first story that details a human conflict with, and overall defeat by, an extraterrestrial race. Following its publication, ''The War of the Worlds'' rapidly entered popular culture. Through the 20th and 21st centuries, the novel has been adapted in various media, including radio, television and film. These have been produced with varying degrees of faithfulness to the original text, with many of the more famous adaptations, such as

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

' 1938 radio adaptation and the

2005 film 2005 in film is an overview of events, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies, festivals, a list of country-specific lists of films released, notable deaths and film debuts. Evaluation of the year Renowned American film critic a ...

directed by

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

, choosing to set the events in a contemporary setting. In addition, many adaptations, including both of the Americanised above, relocated the location from its original setting of the United Kingdom in favour of the United States. The most recent adaptation of this type was produced in Canada and broadcast on Britain's BBC (autumn 2013) and BBC America (summer 2014) for the centenary of World War I. It posits the Martian invasion as '' The Great Martian War 1913–1917'', with the Martians invading Earth, first falling on Germany, and then expanding their war on mankind throughout Western Europe.

Films

Adaptions

Theatrical *1953: ''The War of the Worlds'' (1953 film), produced by

George Pal George Pal (born György Pál Marczincsak; ; February 1, 1908 – May 2, 1980) was a Hungarian-American animator, film director and producer, principally associated with the fantasy and science-fiction genres. He became an American citizen after ...

and directed by Byron Haskin, for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

*2005: ''War of the Worlds'' (2005 film), directed by

, also for Paramount Pictures Direct-to-video: *1981: '' The War of the Worlds: Next Century'', a Polish film by Piotr Szulkin *2005: ''H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds'' (Pendragon Pictures film), directed by Timothy Hines, for Pendragon Pictures *2005: ''H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds'' (The Asylum film), directed by David Michael Latt (titled ''Invasion'' or ''The Worlds in War'' internationally), for

The Asylum The Asylum is an American independent film company and distributor that focuses on producing low-budget, direct-to-video films. It is notorious for producing titles that capitalize on productions by major studios, often using film titles and sc ...

. **2008: '' War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave'', sequel to The Asylum's film, directed by C. Thomas Howell *2012: ''

Alien Dawn ''Alien Dawn'' is a science fiction comedy television series which aired on Nicktoons. The series premiered on February 22, 2013 and supposedly ended on April 12, 2013, leaving 11 episodes unaired until TeenNick marathon aired the remaining episode ...

'': based very loosely on ''H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds'' set in Los Angeles, Directed by Neil Johnson *2012: ''

War of the Worlds - The True Story ''War of the Worlds: The True Story'' is a 2012 american made-for-television science fiction-action film remake of '' H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds'' based on English writer H. G. Wells's epic 1898 science fiction novel ''The War of the Wor ...

'' a sci-fi/

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction ** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction **Korean horror, Korean horror fiction * Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...

mockumentary, by Pendragon Pictures *2012: '' War of the Worlds: Goliath'': Animated sequel set 15 years after the Wells novel Television Movies: *1975: '' The Night That Panicked America'', a film that follows

' radio broadcast based on Wells' novel.

Parodies, homages, imitations

*1990: '' Spaced Invaders'', a comic film directed by Patrick Read Johnson in which Martians land in a small Illinois town at the same time as the local radio station is rebroadcasting

' radio drama. *1996: '' Mars Attacks!'', a science fiction comedy by Tim Burton, which spoofs many alien invasion films of the 1950s, including 1953's ''The War of the Worlds''. *1996: ''

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

'' is a sci-fi action film that, in addition to dealing with a similar large scale invasion of earth by extraterrestrials, pays homage by having a

computer virus A computer virus is a type of computer program that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code. If this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be "infected" with a compu ...

be that which disrupts the aliens, an update to the pathogens that caused the downfall of the aliens in the original Wells' work. *2006: ''

Scary Movie 4 ''Scary Movie 4'' is a 2006 American science fiction parody film. It is the sequel to ''Scary Movie 3'' and the fourth installment in the ''Scary Movie'' film series, as well as the first film in the franchise to be released under The Weinstein ...

'', a spoof comedy that uses Steven Spielberg's film version as its plot. *2017: ''

Brave New Jersey ''Brave New Jersey'' is a 2016 American comedy film directed by Jody Lambert, who also served as co-writer with Michael Dowling. The film stars Tony Hale, Anna Camp, Sam Jaeger, Heather Burns, Dan Bakkedahl and Raymond J. Barry. The film was rele ...

'', a comedy about a New Jersey town impacted by the Orson Welles broadcast. * In

Dennis Wheatley Dennis Yeats Wheatley (8 January 1897 – 10 November 1977) was a British writer whose prolific output of thrillers and occult novels made him one of the world's best-selling authors from the 1930s through the 1960s. His Gregory Sallust series ...

's WWII spy thriller '' They Used Dark Forces'', the protagonist Gregory Sallust manages to infiltrate Hitler's bunker in the final months of the war, gain the German dictator's confidence and convince him that he is fated to be reincarnated as a Martian and lead a Martian conquest of Earth - and enthralled by that expected future, Hitler is content to commit suicide rather than try to resort to guerrilla war and prolong the fighting by another year.

Television

*1957: ''

Studio One Studio One or Studio 1 may refer to: * Studio One (software), digital audio workstation software, developed by PreSonus * ''Studio One'' (American TV series), a 1948–1958 American television anthology series * ''Studio One'' (Emirati TV progra ...

'': Episode "

The Night America Trembled "The Night America Trembled" is a television dramatization of the public reaction to the 1938 radio broadcast of "The War of the Worlds" that aired September 9, 1957, as an episode of the CBS series ''Westinghouse Studio One''. Hosted by Edward R ...

", based on the Orson Welles' Mercury Players performance of a radio play version of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds on 30 October 1938. *1988: '' War of the Worlds'': Loosely based on Wells' novel, but is mainly a sequel to the 1953 film. *1993: a planned animated series to be produced by New World Action Animation, a sister division to New World Animation Limited (formerly Marvel Productions) and subsidiary of New World Entertainment *2001: '' Justice League'': an animated TV series adapts the main events and visuals of the novel for the three part story ''Secret Origins''. Aliens, after destroying Mars, attack Earth via tripods and a team of superheroes, including Superman, attempt to stop them *2006: The Simpsons " Treehouse of Horror XVII" episode, "The Day the Earth Looked Stupid" takes the idea of the mass panic, but in the end once everyone realizes it was a hoax and they won't fall for it again, it turns out that aliens Kang and Kodos have successfully invaded Earth. The episode ends with the two aliens confused as to why they weren't hailed as the liberators of Earth, after destroying Springfield. *2013: '' The Great Martian War 1913–1917'', a science fiction

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...

told in the format of an episode on the History Channel on the centennial of the first year of the

War To End All Wars "The war to end war" (also "The war to end all wars"; originally from the 1914 book '' The War That Will End War'' by H. G. Wells) is a term for the First World War of 1914–1918. Originally an idealistic slogan, it is now mainly used sardonica ...

. *2019: '' The War of the Worlds'': A three-part BBC adaptation set in Edwardian England. *2019–22: '' War of the Worlds'': A twenty-four-episode

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

and

Studio Canal StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., Canal+ Production, and Canal+ Image and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film production and distribution company that owns ...

adaptation set in contemporary Europe.

Radio

*1938: ''The War of the Worlds'' (radio), the

' 1938 radio adaptation, script by

Howard E. Koch Howard E. Koch (December 12, 1901 – August 17, 1995) was an American playwright and screenwriter who was blacklisted by the Hollywood film studio bosses in the 1950s. Background Born to a Jewish family in New York City, Koch grew up in Kingsto ...

. *1944: ''War of the Worlds'' radio broadcast, Santiago. *1949: ''War of the Worlds'' radio broadcast, Radio Quito, Quito, Ecuador. *1950: ''The War of the Worlds'', BBC radio dramatisation adapted from the novel by Jon Manchip White, 6 episodes. *1955: ''The Lux Radio Theater'''': War of the Worlds,'' adaptation of the

1953 film The year 1953 in film involved some significant events. Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1953 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * January 16 – A new Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. is incorporated ...

. *1967: ''The War of the Worlds'', BBC radio dramatisation using the 1950 Jon Manchip White script, 6 episodes. *1968: ''The War of the Worlds'' (radio 1968), WKBW radio adaptation. *1971: ''War of the Worlds'' radio broadcast, Rádio Difusora, São Luís, Brazil. *1988: ''The War of the Worlds'', an NPR 50th Anniversary radio adaptation with Jason Robards, using a slightly updated version of the

script. *1998: ''Orson the Alien'', episode of Seeing Ear Theater, radio comedy/drama, broadcast 30 October 1998, including audio snippets from Orson Welles' 1938 broadcast. *2002: ''The War of the Worlds'',

Glenn Beck Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...

's Mercury Radio Arts recreates the 1938 program live on Halloween 2002, using the exact

script. The program was sponsored by Bill's Khakis. *2005: ''La Guerra de los Mundos'', radio broadcast, Rock & Pop,

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated Regions of Chile, region, t ...

, broadcast as promotion of the 2005 movie. *2017: ''The War of the Worlds'', BBC radio dramatization adapted from the novel by Melissa Murray, 2 episodes. *2018: ''The Coming of the Martians'', a faithful audio dramatisation of the original 1897 story b
Sherwood Sound Studios
starring Colin Morgan and produced in 5.1 surround sound. *2018: ''The Martian Invasion of Earth'', an audio drama adaptation for

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...

, adapted by

Nicholas Briggs Nicholas Briggs (born 29 September 1961) is an English actor, writer, director, sound designer and composer. He is associated with the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs, particularly as the voice of the Dale ...

, and starring Richard Armitage and Lucy Briggs-Owen. *2019: ''The Day Of The Martians'', book #1 of The Martian Diaries trilogy by H.E. Wilburson. An audio dramatisation sequel to 'The War Of The Worlds' with original music by H.E.Wilburson. First broadcast in May and June 2019 by Radio Woking.

Music

*1978: '' Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds'', by

Jeff Wayne Jeffry Wayne (born 1 July 1943) is an American-British composer, musician and lyricist. In 1978, he released ''Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds'', his musical adaptation of H. G. Wells' science-fiction novel ''The War of ...

*2009: ''War of the Worlds'', by Marc Broude *2012: ''

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds - The New Generation Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson (given name), Jefferson or Jeffrey (given name), Jeffrey, which comes from a Middle Ages, medieval variant of Geoffrey (given name), Geoffrey. Music ...

'', by

*2017: ''War of the Worlds'', an opera by Annie Gosfield, commissioned by the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

*2018: ''

War of the Worlds, Pt. 1 ''War of the Worlds, Pt. 1'' is the second solo album by Symphony X guitarist Michael Romeo, released on 27 July 2018. It is his first solo album in over two decades (since 1994's '' The Dark Chapter'') and his first release since 2015's ''Underwo ...

'', by Michael Romeo *2022: ''

War of the Worlds, Pt. 2 ''War of the Worlds, Pt. 2'' is the third solo album by Symphony X guitarist Michael Romeo, released on 25 March 2022 via Inside Out Music. It is a sequel to his previous album released in 2018, ''War of the Worlds, Pt. 1''. It was originally sche ...

'', by Michael Romeo

Game

* 1978: The octopus-like aliens of '' Space Invaders'' were inspired by Wells' Martians, as game designer

Tomohiro Nishikado is a Japanese people, Japanese video game developer and engineer. He is the creator of the arcade shoot 'em up game ''Space Invaders'', released to the public in 1978 by the Taito of Japan, often credited as the first shoot 'em up and for beginn ...

was a fan of the novel. * 1979; 1982: ''The War of the Worlds'' (arcade game), an arcade game published by Cinematronics, and its re-released color version. * 1980: '' The War of the Worlds'', a war board game designed by Allen D. Eldridge and published by Task Force Games. * 1984:

The War of the Worlds (1984 computer game) ''The War of the Worlds'', titled on screen as ''Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds'' and on the cover as ''Jeff Wayne's Video Game Version of The War of the Worlds'' is a ZX Spectrum video game developed and released by CRL Group in 1984 in vide ...

, a home computer game based on ''Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds''. * 1998: '' Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds'', real-time strategy computer game. * 1999: '' Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds'', vehicular combat PlayStation game. * 2011: ''The War of the Worlds'', a 2D action/platform game narrated by Patrick Stewart. * 2020: ''Grey Skies: A War of the Worlds Story'', a stealth adventure game created by Steel Arts Software where you play as Harper as she tries to survive the invasion. * TBA: A video game, simply called ''War of The Worlds'', based on the

2005 Film 2005 in film is an overview of events, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies, festivals, a list of country-specific lists of films released, notable deaths and film debuts. Evaluation of the year Renowned American film critic a ...

, is currently in development.

Comic books

* 1946–1947:

Edgar P. Jacobs Edgard Félix Pierre Jacobs (30 March 1904 – 20 February 1987), better known under his pen name Edgar P. Jacobs, was a Belgium, Belgian comic book creator (writer and artist), born in Brussels, Belgium. He was one of the founding fathers of the ...

produced an adaptation in the pages of the

Le Journal de Tintin ''Tintin'' (french: Le Journal de Tintin; nl, Kuifje) was a weekly Franco-Belgian comics magazine of the second half of the 20th century. Subtitled ''"The Magazine for the Youth from 7 to 77"'', it was one of the major publications of the Fra ...

. An album released in 1986 was published by Dargaud. * 1955: '' Classics Illustrated'' #124, a comic book adaptation of the book * 1973–1976: '' Amazing Adventures'' #18–39 featured Killraven, a 21st-century freedom fighter against a second Martian invasion. * 1977: ''

Marvel Classics Comics ''Marvel Classics Comics'' was an American comics magazine which ran from 1976 until 1978. It specialized in adaptations of literary classics such as ''Moby-Dick'', ''The Three Musketeers'', and ''The Iliad''. It was Marvel Comics' attempt to pick ...

'' #14, a comic book adaptation of the book. * 1978: Waldemar Andrzejewski's 20-page comic book adaptation of the novel, written in Polish by J. Mielczarek. * 1990: ''Sherlock Holmes in the Case of the Missing Martian'' published by

Eternity (comics) Eternity is a fictional cosmic entity appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by scripter-editor Stan Lee and artist-plotter Steve Ditko, the character is first mentioned in ''Strange Tales'' #134 (July 1965) and fi ...

, is set in 1908, in the aftermath of the failed invasion. The story links the theft of the body of a dead Martian from the British Museum, fears of a second invasion, a plot by

Professor Moriarty Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be a formidable enemy for the author's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He was created primarily as a device by which Doyle could ...

, and Holmes's retirement occupation in

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...

. * 1999: '' Superman: War of the Worlds'': events of the Wells book transferred to

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

's Metropolis and also involve Lois Lane and Lex Luthor. *2002–2003: Volume II of ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'', a limited series comic book written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill *2006: ''H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds'' (comic), graphic novel * 2002 – present:

Scarlet Traces ''Scarlet Traces'' is a Steampunk comic series written by Ian Edginton and illustrated by D'Israeli. It was originally published online before being serialised in 2002, in the British anthology ''Judge Dredd Megazine''. A sequel, ''Scarlet Traces: ...

, a sequel to the novel appearing in 2000 AD written by Ian Edginton and illustrated by D'Israeli. * 2018: ''H. G. Wells: The War of the Worlds'' published by Insight Comics.

Other

*1994: ''War of the Worlds: Invasion from Mars'', an Audio Theatre adaption by L.A. Theatre Works, casting

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

cast members like Leonard Nimoy, Gates McFadden, Brent Spiner and directed by John de Lancie. *2004–2005: ''H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds'', a site specific theatre adaptation by Canadian playwright Ian Case staged in and around Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria, British Columbia. *2005: ''The Art of H. G. Wells'' by

Ricardo Garijo Ricardo Garijo (December 1, 1953 - October 3, 2009) was an Argentinian author, publisher and artist, best known for his long career as a comics writer and artist. Biography Garijo became known outside his homeland in the early 1980s through his w ...

, the third in the series of

trading card A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other ...

s, released *2008: ''Solar Pons's War of the Worlds'', an online web serial set in the world of

Solar Pons Solar Pons is a fictional detective created by August Derleth as a pastiche of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Robert Bloch wrote of the series, "During a span of a century there have been literally hundreds of Sherlockian imitations, rang ...

, combining elements of the original novel, the 1938 radio adaptation, and the Wells short-story ''

The Crystal Egg "The Crystal Egg" is a science fiction short story written by H. G. Wells in 1897. The story tells of a shop owner, named Mr. Cave, who finds a strange crystal egg that serves as a window into the planet Mars. The story was written the same yea ...

''. *2017: ''War of the Worlds 2017'', a mixed web media story primarily told through Twitter, centered on a modern group of characters while retaining concepts from the original novel. *2017: '' The Day Of The Martians'', book #1 of The Martian Diaries trilogy by H.E.Wilburson. An audio dramatisation sequel to 'The War Of The Worlds' with original music by H.E.Wilburson. *2019: ''

Lake On The Moon A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a Depression (geology), basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the World Ocean, oce ...

'', book #2 of The Martian Diaries trilogy by H.E.Wilburson. An audio dramatisation sequel to 'The War Of The Worlds' with original music by H.E.Wilburson.

1938 radio adaption by Orson Welles

Orson Welles's 1938 radio broadcast on '' The Mercury Theatre on the Air'' purportedly caused public outcry, as many listeners believed that an actual Martian invasion was in progress, although the reality of the panic is disputed as the program had relatively few listeners. The radio drama itself has spun off a number of productions based upon the events surrounding the broadcast, including '' Doctor Who: Invaders from Mars'', an audio drama released in 2002 based upon the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' television series that depicts Welles's broadcast as taking place during an actual attempted alien invasion.

1953 first film adaptation by George Pal

George Pal's film adaptation has many notable differences from H. G. Wells' novel. The closest resemblance is probably that of the antagonists. The film's aliens are indeed Martians, and invade Earth for the same reasons as those from the novel (the state of Mars suggests that it is in the final stages of being able to support life, leading to the Martians decision to make Earth their new home). They land on Earth in the same way, by crashing to the Earth. However, the book's spacecraft are large cylinder-shaped projectiles fired from the Martian surface from some kind of cannon, instead of the film's meteor-like spaceships; but the Martians emerge from their craft in the same way, by unscrewing a large, round hatch. They appear to have no use for humans in the film. In the novel they are observed directly feeding on humans by draining their victims' blood using

pipette A pipette (sometimes spelled as pipett) is a laboratory tool commonly used in chemistry, biology and medicine to transport a measured volume of liquid, often as a media dispenser. Pipettes come in several designs for various purposes with diffe ...

s; there is also a speculation about them eventually using human slaves to hunt down all remaining human survivors after the Martians conquer Earth. In the film the Martians do not bring the novel's fast-growing red weed with them, but they are defeated by Earth microorganisms, as observed in the novel. However, they die from the effects of the microorganisms within three days of the landing of the first meteor-ship; in the novel the Martians die within about three weeks of their invasion of England. The Martians themselves bear no physical resemblance to the novel's Martians. The novel's aliens are bear-sized, bulky creatures whose bodies are described as "merely heads", with a beak-like mouth, sixteen tentacles and two "luminous, disk-like eyes". Their film counterparts are short, reddish-brown creatures with two long, thin arms with three long suction cup-like fingers. The Martian's "head," if it can be called that, is a broad "face" at the top-front of its broad shouldered upper torso, the only apparent feature of which is a single large eye with three distinctly colored lenses. The Martians' lower extremities, whatever they may be, are never shown. (Some speculative designs for the creature suggest the idea of three thin legs resembling their fingers, while others show them as a biped with short, stubby legs with three-toed feet.) The film's Martian war machines do actually have more of a resemblance than they may seem at first glance. The book's machines are Tripods and carry the heat-ray projector on an articulated arm connected to the front of the war machine's main body. The film's machines are deliberately shaped like manta rays, with a bulbous, elongated green window at the front, through which the aliens observe their surroundings. On top of the machine is the cobra-like heat-ray attached to a long, narrow, neck-like extension. They can be mistaken for flying-machines, but Dr. Forrester states that they are lifted by "invisible legs"; in one scene, when the first machine emerges, you can see faint traces of three energy legs beneath and three sparking traces where the three energy shafts touch the burning ground. Therefore, technically speaking, the film's war machines are indeed tripods, though they are never given that designation. Whereas the novel's war machines had no protection against artillery, the film's war machines have a force field surrounding them; this invisible shield is described by Dr. Forrester as a "protective blister". The Martian weaponry is also partially unchanged. The heat-ray has the very same effect as that of the novel. However, the novel's heat-ray is briefly described as having a spinning disk held up by a mechanical arm when first seen; it fires in a wide arc while still in the pit where the Martians first land. The film's heat-ray is shaped like a cobra's hood with a single, red pulsing eye, which possibly acts like a targeting telescope for the Martians. The book describes another weapon, the black smoke used to kill all life; the war machines fire projectiles containing a black powder through a bazooka-like tube accessory. The black powder when dispersed seems to have the same effect on life as the mustard gas of the First World War. This weapon is replaced in the film by the "skeleton beam", which fires green pulsing bursts of energy from the tips of the Manta-Ray body. The skeleton beams cause objects and people to disintegrate. The plot of the film is very different from the novel. The novel tells the story of a late 19th-century journalist who journeys through Victorian London and environs while the Martians attack, eventually being reunited with his wife; the film's protagonist is a California scientist who falls in love with a college instructor after the Martian attack begins. However, certain points of the plot are similar to the novel, from the crash-landing of the Martian meteor-ships to their eventual defeat by Earth's microorganisms. Doctor Forrester also goes through some of which befalls the book's narrator: like his ordeal in a destroyed house and seeing an actual Martian up close. The film is given more of a Cold War theme, with its use of the Atomic Bomb against the enemy and the mass-destruction that such a global war would inflict on mankind.

Unreleased adaptations

After the Second World War, Ray Harryhausen shot a scene of a dying alien falling out of a Martian war machine. It test footage for an abandoned project to adapt the story using Wells' original "octopus" concept for the Martians. A video of the original footage can be found on YouTube. Here Harryhausen talks about his proposed adaptation: :"Yes, originally, after '' Mighty Joe oung' I made a lot of sketches for ''War of the Worlds''. I wanted to keep it in the period that H.G. Wells wrote it, of the Victorian period, and I made eight big drawings, some of which are published – in the book and it would have been an interesting picture, if it was made years ago. But since then so many pictures of that nature have been made that it wouldn't be quite unique as it would have been."

Sequels by other authors

*Within six weeks of the novel's original 1897 magazine serialisation, '' The Boston Post'' began running a sequel, ''

Edison's Conquest of Mars ''Edison's Conquest of Mars'' is an 1898 science fiction novel by American astronomer and writer Garrett P. Serviss. It was written as a sequel to ''Fighters from Mars'', an unauthorized and heavily altered version of H. G. Wells's 1897 story '' ...

'' by

Garrett P. Serviss Garrett Putnam Serviss (March 24, 1851 – May 25, 1929) was an American astronomer, popularizer of astronomy, and early science fiction writer. Serviss was born in Sharon Springs, New York and majored in science at Cornell University. He to ...

, about an Earth counter-attack against the Martians, led by Thomas Edison. Though this is actually a sequel to 'Fighters from Mars', a revised and un-authorised re-print, they both were first printed in the Boston Post in 1898. *''The War of the Wenuses'' by

E. V. Lucas Edward Verrall Lucas, CH (11/12 June 1868 – 26 June 1938) was an English humorist, essayist, playwright, biographer, publisher, poet, novelist, short story writer and editor. Born to a Quaker family in Eltham, on the fringes of London, Luca ...

and C. L. Graves (1898) is a parody of Wells's novel. In it London is invaded by Venusian women intent on raiding major department stores, notably Whiteley's. They can render men insensible using a 'mash-glance' (a 'masher' was period slang for an attractive young woman), so London's womenfolk resist them instead. *In 1962, Soviet author

Lazar Lagin Lazar Iosifovich Lagin (russian: Ла́зарь Ио́сифович Лагин), real name Lazar Ginzburg (4 December 1903, Vitebsk – 4 June 1979, Moscow), was a Soviet and Russian author of children's and science fiction books. Lagin is be ...

published a political pamphlet named "Major Well Andyou" ("Майор Велл Эндъю"), a pun on "Well, and you?", which relates the story of a major in the British Army who collaborates with the Martian invaders. Lagin used the story to express current trends of

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

thought in the Soviet Union, and injected analysis of political issues contemporary to the 1950s and 1960s. *''

The Second War of the Worlds ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

'', by George H. Smith concerned the Martians trying to invade an alternate, less-technologically advanced Earth. Helping these people are an unnamed English detective, and his companion, a doctor, from 'our' world. (It is quite obvious from clues in the story that these are actually

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

and

Dr. John Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle fe ...

.) *In the 1970s, Marvel Comics had a character named ''Killraven, Warrior of the Worlds'' who (in an alternative timeline) fought H. G. Wells' Martians after their second invasion of Earth in 2001. He first appeared in '' Amazing Adventures'' volume 2 #18. * Manly Wade Wellman and his son Wade Wellman wrote ''

Sherlock Holmes' War of the Worlds ''Sherlock Holmes's War of the Worlds'' is a sequel to H. G. Wells's science fiction novel ''The War of the Worlds'', written by Manly Wade Wellman and his son Wade Wellman, and published in 1975. It is a pastiche crossover which combines H. G. ...

'' (1975) which describes

's adventures during the Martian occupation of London. This version uses Wells' short story "

" as a prequel (with Holmes being the man who bought the egg at the end) and includes a crossover with

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

Professor Challenger George Edward Challenger is a fictional character in a series of fantasy and science fiction stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Unlike Conan Doyle's self-controlled, analytical character, Sherlock Holmes, Professor Challenger is an aggressive, ...

stories. Among many changes the Martians are changed into simple vampires, who suck and ingest human blood. * In ''

The Space Machine ''The Space Machine'', subtitled ''A Scientific Romance'', is a science fiction novel written by English writer Christopher Priest. First published in 1976, it follows the travels of protagonists Edward Turnbull and Amelia Fitzgibbon. The pair ...

'' Christopher Priest presents both a sequel and prequel to ''The War of the Worlds'' (due to time travel elements), which also integrates the events of '' The Time Machine''. *In the novel ''W. G. Grace's Last Case'' (1984) by Willie Rushton, W. G. Grace and Doctor Watson avert a second Martian invasion by attacking the Martian fleet on the far side of the moon with "bombs" containing

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

germs. *The comic book ''

'' (2002) begins a decade later with Great Britain utilising the Martians' technology, and ironic to the allegory of Wells' novel, have become more powerful because of it. Eventually, this leads up to a counter-invasion aimed for Mars in its own sequel, ''Scarlet Traces: The Great Game'' (2006). *Science fiction author Eric Brown wrote a short story, "Ulla, Ulla" (2002) about an expedition to Mars, finding the truth behind H.G. Wells' novel. *''The London Pen (La cage de Londres,'' 2003), by French-Canadian author

Jean-Pierre Guillet Jean-Pierre Guillet is a French-Canadian writer born in Iberville, Quebec, in 1953. He received the 1998 Aurora Award for best science-fiction novel in French for the story of an expedition to Mars, ''L'Odyssée du Pénélope''(''The Odyssey of ...

, takes place one hundred years after a second successful Martian invasion. Humans are penned like cattle and «milked» regularly by their new masters, who feed on their blood. *Andrew Norris published ''Solar Pons' War of the Worlds'' in ''The Solar Pons Gazette'' (Volume 3.1, December 2008, pp. 19–33). In it

, the Sherlock Holmes pastiche detective created by August Derleth, is involved, along with H.G. Wells, in a Martian invasion in 1938. *C. A, Powell's ''The Last Days of Thunder Child: Victorian Britain in chaos!'' (2013) tells the story from the perspective of the crew of HMS ''Thunder Child'', here a pre-dreadnought rather than the

torpedo ram A torpedo ram is a type of torpedo boat combining a ram with torpedo tubes. Incorporating design elements from the cruiser and the monitor, it was intended to provide small and inexpensive weapon systems for coastal defence and other littoral com ...

in the original novel. A sequel, ''The Last Days of the Fighting Machine: The Martian Apocalypse of Victorian Britain'' (2019), tells the story of the fightback once the Martians start being weakened by disease, showing a variety of points of view, including members of the crew of a French warship. *Mike Brunton's ''War of the Worlds: The Anglo-Martian War of 1895'' (Dark Osprey Book 9) is a 2015 pseudo-factual military history of the Martian invasion by a respected military history publisher. It sets the war at the time Wells wrote the novel, rather than in the early 20th century as specified by Wells in his book. *A number of people have written contemporaneously set stories that describe the same invasion from the perspectives of locations other than Britain. Notable stories of this type are: ** "Night of the Cooters" by Howard Waldrop, in which a Martian war machine lands in Texas. ** "Foreign Devils" by Walter Jon Williams, set in China. **'' War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches'', edited by

Kevin J. Anderson Kevin James Anderson (born March 27, 1962) is an American science fiction author. He has written spin-off novels for ''Star Wars'', ''StarCraft'', ''Titan A.E.'' and ''The X-Files literature#Novels, The X-Files'', and with Brian Herbert is the ...

, an anthology of such stories (). **'' War of the Worlds: New Millennium'' (2005) by Douglas Niles in which the invasion is set in 2005 and focuses mainly on the American fightback. () Tor Books * Kevin J. Anderson (writing as Gabriel Mesta) later wrote ''The Martian War: A Thrilling Eyewitness Account of the Recent Invasion As Reported by Mr. H.G. Wells'' (2006). It recounts the Martian invasion from a variety of viewpoints, and has ties to Wells's other work. *In the short story
Mastery of Vesania
', Hayden Lee uses his appropriation to present the invasion from the perspective of the Martian invaders, also providing the link between the different nature of the two invasions presented in the book and the 2005 film (arriving from space and rising from the ground). *

Steffen König Steffen is a surname and given name, and may refer to: *Albert Steffen (1884–1963), Swiss poet, painter, and novelist *Alex Steffen (b. 1968), American writer and environmental futurist *Anthony Steffen (1929–2004), Brazilian actor; acted in ma ...

wrote a prequel entitled ''Die Dämonen vom Ullswater'', (''The Demons of Ullswater'') published 2014 by Wurdack Verlag Germany. Set in 1894, the protagonist, a young lawyer from London, encounters an early scouting party of the Martians near lake Ullswater in Cumberland, UK. () * Scott Washburn has written five novels between 2016 and 2019, starting with ''The Great Martian War: Invasion'', about a second Martian invasion in 1909 and the resultant battlefronts. Much of this is set in the USA. * '' The New York Times'' best selling author, Stephen Baxter, has a novel-length sequel; entitled ''

The Massacre of Mankind ''The Massacre of Mankind'' (2017) is a science fiction novel by British writer Stephen Baxter, a sequel to H. G. Wells' 1898 classic ''The War of the Worlds'', authorised by the Wells estate. It is set in 1920, 13 years after the events of the ...

'', released on 19 January 2017. He has also written a novella entitled ''The Martian in the Wood'' (also 2017). *Mark Gardner and John J. Rust's ''War of the Worlds: Retaliation'' (2017) posits a human invasion of Mars in 1924, using captured Martian technology and led by historical characters including

George Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

and Georgy Zhukov. *Indie author D.G.Leigh has written two novellas. "Sherlock Holmes Vs The War of the Worlds" (2015). The original Wells' invasion as experienced by Mr Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson. The second publication takes places twenty years later. This time the protagonist is the teenage son of the Journalist living in the Artilleryman's subterranean metropolis. The title of this story is identical to Stephen Baxter's official release "The Massacre of Mankind" (2017). * The Martian Diaries trilogy by H.E.Wilburson, a sequel to 'The War Of The Worlds', continues in 1913 with original characters facing a new Martian invasion and a terrible doomsday weapon in book #1 'The Day Of The Martians'. A sinister discovery in 1919 in book #2 'Lake On The Moon', reveals that our planet is in great peril from Red Weed first brought to Earth by the Martians. Following in the footsteps of the astronomer Ogilvy, Jack Stent adds to 'The Martian Diaries', as he embarks on a desperate space mission to find a cure for the Martian plague in book #3 'Gateway To Mars'. *The 2019 speculative fiction book ''Spacecraft of the First World War: A Compendium of Fighting Vessels of the Great Powers'' by William Flogg details a fictional

alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...

stemming from the aftermath of the Martian invasion. Documented in the style of a fictional vessel encyclopedia, the book details the next few decades after the invasion, as humanity discovers the abandoned life support and anti-gravity devices used by the Martians to survive the transit to Earth and reverse-engineers the technology to create interplanetary warships, and the effects this had on history--namely, the events of the First World War which, in light of the new advancements in technology spreads beyond terrestrial Earth and into the solar system. and humanity's attempts to explore space despite the conflict. * In Robert Heinlein's '' The Number of the Beast'' the protagonists visit several different versions of Mars. One of them is the home planet of the Martians who invaded Earth and who in this alterante history managed to hold on to their conquest. The protagonists encounter tribes of humans living in the Martian wilds, descendants of captive humans who had been transported to Mars by the conquerors and there managed to escape. Also on Mars, the wild humans still speak Cockney English — while the Martians' obedient slaves seem descended mainly from

upper-class English The social structure of the United Kingdom has historically been highly influenced by the concept of social class, which continues to affect British society today. British society, like its European neighbours and most societies in world history, w ...

men. * In a loose way, John Christopher's '' Tripods trilogy'' can also be considered a sequel to ''War of the Worlds'' since it depicts the Earth under the rule of invaders from space who move about on giant tripods, and the struggle of Humanity to get free of them - though in Christopher's version the invaders come from much further away than Mars, and are different in many crucial ways from Wells' Martians.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adaptations of the War of the Worlds War of the Worlds