The COVID pandemic created an interesting time for the world and that includes the film industry. In fact, an adaptation of War of the Worlds starring Ice Cube was filmed at this time, and the “innovative” movie was finally released this year via Amazon Prime. The aforementioned innovation is that the film was shot in an unusual way, and star Ice Cube says the director was not present for his work on the movie.
It’s been five years since War of the Worlds was shot, with Anaconda star Ice Cube leading a cast that also features Eva Longoria, Clark Gregg, Andrea Savage, Henry Hunter Hall, Iman Benson, Devon Bostick, and Michael O’Neill. Its unique “screenlife” style was the workaround required to have the film made during the pandemic.
As shared with Kai Cenat, however, Ice Cube uses the situation to explain why the film turned out the way it did. Here’s what he shared:
“This is a movie we did during the COVID pandemic. We shot it in 15 days. The director wasn’t there, the actors weren’t there. This was the only way we could shoot the movie.”
The film, which was released via Amazon Prime, has been slammed by critics and viewers alike. In addition to the way the movie was shot, and the performances of the cast, many criticisms also target the film’s use of product placement. In fact, many viewers have expressed that the film feels like a commercial for Amazon Prime – which can be rather off-putting for a new adaptation of a classic 1898 novel from H.G. Wells.
Rich Lee is credited as the director of the film with the screenplay having been written by Kenneth A. Golde and Marc Hyman with a story credit by Golde.
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates regarding Ice Cube’s career and the fascinating production of 2025’s War of the Worlds as we have them. It’s definitely an interesting example of filmmaking during the pandemic era – for better or worse.