Ice Cube Says Critical Disaster Shot Without Director Or Actors Present

Ice Cube in “War of the Worlds.”

Universal Pictures/DreamWorks

War of the Worlds star Ice Cube says the critically maligned remake of the H.G. Wells alien invasion classic, was shot with no director or actors on set.

The film, which was released in early August on Prime Video, initially debuted with a 0% “rotten” rating from 10 Rotten Tomatoes critics. Since then, the film has limped to a 4% “rotten” rating based on 48 reviews.

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Now, about a month and a half after the film’s release on streaming, Ice Cube is shedding a little light about the production. In the film, the hit rapper-turned-actor stars as Will Radford, whose role as a government domestic terror analyst plays out on screen during an alien invasion.

War of the Worlds is based on Wells’ classic novel from 1898, which was first adapted as a radio play by Orson Welles in 1938. The story was also adapted as a Gene Barry feature film in 1958 and Tom Cruise’s version directed by Steven Spielberg in 2005.

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“This is a movie I did in 2020 during the pandemic, five years ago,” Ice Cube explained on Kai Cenat’s livestream (via Deadline). “We shot it in 15 days, and it was during the pandemic. So, the director wasn’t in there, none of the actors [were] in there. This was the only way we could really shoot the movie. It’s pandemic time.”

As such, Ice told Cenat, “That’s why it’s only the computer screen. But really, if s— went down, everybody would only have their screen to look at.”

The official summary of the film reads, “A gargantuan invasion is coming with this fresh take on the legendary novel of the same name. Renowned actress Eva Longoria is joined by iconic rapper and actor Ice Cube, along with Michael O’Neill and Iman Benson, for a thrilling out-of-this-world adventure that is filled with present-day themes of technology, surveillance, and privacy.”

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Ice Cube’s version of War of the Worlds did indeed have a director, Rich Lee, whose credits include a string of music videos for the likes of Eminem, Lana Del Rey, Black Eyed Peas, Nicole Scherzinger and Maroon 5.

‘War Of The Worlds’ Originated As A Universal Pictures Film

While Ice Cube’s War of the Worlds debuted exclusively on streaming on Prime Video, it started out as a Universal Pictures production.

“Well, it was a Universal movie and they sold it to Amazon Prime. And it took a minute to finish the movie because of how it’s shot,” Ice Cube told Kai Cenat. “All the footage is from real surveillance cameras all around the world. So they had to build all that s—.”

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The Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus for 2025 version of War of the Worlds reads, “Stranding Ice Cube in an inept screensaver with wall-to-wall product placement, War of the Worlds will make audiences consider giving peace a chance instead.”

Streaming audiences were a little bit easier on War of the Worlds, giving the film a 21% “rotten” rating based on 2,500-plus verified user ratings. The RT audience summary for the movie reads, “To some, War of the Worlds is a branded empty package; to others, it’s a sci-fi guilty pleasure treasure that proves the old adage right.”

War of the Worlds is still available to stream on Prime Video.

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