Tom Cruise wanted to work with Steven Spielberg again after their success with Minority Report and offered the director three options of films to create together. One of the choices was an adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds. It was Spielberg’s third film exploring the subject of alien invasion and Josh Friedman delivered a screenplay, which was then rewritten by David Koepp.
However, Spielberg had to change several things in the final script after accepting it. He revealed that he was forced to make the changes after watching Roland Emmerich’s film, Independence Day, which explored a similar theme.
Steven Spielberg Had To Make Changes To His Tom Cruise Film Due To Independence Day
Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise reunited for the 2005 film, War of the Worlds, which also starred Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, and Tim Robbins. In the film, Cruise starred as a dock worker and a father, who struggles to protect his two children after aliens invade Earth. However, Spielberg faced a major challenge in making the film.
During an interview with DGA, Spielberg was asked whether he tried something different on the film from its source material. Spielberg shared that he had always wanted to make the book into a film. However, when Roland Emmerich‘s classic film Independence Day came along, his plans took a back seat.
Spielberg revealed that the film starring Will Smith forced him to change the angle of his story. He shared that he had to tell the story of a Martian invasion without actually including the Martians. The Bridge of Spies director shared with DGA:
I was always wanting to make War of the Worlds, but when Roland Emmerich came along with Independence Day, he kind of took all the steam out of [my plans] and I needed to find another angle to tell the story of a Martian invasion without the Martians.
Independence Day remains one of the most memorable films in Smith’s filmography. The film focused on a bunch of survivors of a worldwide alien attack who converged in the Nevada desert and launched a counterattack on July 4. The film is considered to be a turning point in Hollywood in terms of large-scale disaster films.
The film opened to mixed reviews with the performances and visual effects making an impact. It went on to gross $817.4 million (via Box Office Mojo), becoming the second highest-grossing film at the time behind Spielberg’s Jurassic Park.
How Did Steven Spielberg Make His Film Different From Will Smith’s Film?
Steven Spielberg was against the idea of aliens arriving in spaceships in his film, War of the Worlds. He had originally planned Martian cylinders, but later rewrote the alien tripods to be buried underground in the Earth (via War of the Worlds). Such nuanced changes came from the director’s vision to make the film different from Will Smith’s Independence Day.
During his interview with DGA, Spielberg shared that he had discussions with Tom Cruise and David Koepp to bring in the perspective of a “deadbeat father”. The character undergoes the transition from a father who’s not very good with his kids to becoming their hero in a matter of days.
Spielberg believed that this factor would resonate with the audiences more than when the tale was told from the perspective of government personnel. He shared:
The way David Koepp and I and Tom Cruise envisioned doing that was through the point of view of a kind of deadbeat father who’s not very good with his kids, and has to become in a couple of days the greatest dad of his life in order to save their lives.
I thought that brought the audience into the film more than it would have, had it been told through the point of view of the joint chiefs of staff or the vice president of the United States or field commander.
War of the Worlds received positive reviews from critics and earned Oscar nominations for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Sound Editing. The film collected 603.9 million at the worldwide box office (via Box Office Mojo).
War of the Worlds is now available for streaming on Paramount+, while Independence Day is available on Hulu.
