HOLLYWOOD - H.G. Wells is a popular fellow lately. First, we had the The Time Machine. Now, Tom Cruise is jumping on the bandwagon. Variety reports that under his production company Cruise/Wagner Productions, the actor is developing a feature film version of Wells' 1898 novel The War of the Worlds, in which an unstoppable Martian force attacks Earth. Cruise will likely star in the film, which is slated to start production in 2003.
Orson Welles made The War of the Worlds infamous in his 1938 radio version, which he staged as a live news broadcast. The production caused a nationwide panic as millions of listeners believed Earth was actually under attack by aliens.