HG Wells’ 1898 novel is being brought to the small screen by BBC set for the first time in the original setting of the novel, which is Edwardian England.  All other adaptations up till now have been moved to the modern era of their productions.

This version stars Eleanor Tomlinson (Poldark) and Rafe Spall (The Life Of Pi, The Big Short) as Amy and George a couple starting their life together as the aliens invade.  It will also star Robert Carlyle (“Once Upon a Time”) as Ogilvy, an astronomer and scientist and Rupert Graves (“Sherlock”) as George’s elder brother.

Director Craig Viveiros (Rillington Place) remarked of the new, and more faithful, series:

“H.G. Wells’ seminal novel has been adapted for the screen many times but it’s always had a contemporary (and American) setting, this is the first version to be set in London and the Home Counties during the Edwardian period.”

The three-part series was adapted by Peter Harness, who is the screenwriter who worked on Dr Who: The Zygon Invasion and The Zygon Inversion:

“The version of The War of the Worlds that I wanted to make is one that’s faithful to the tone and the spirit of the book, but which also feels contemporary, surprising and full of shocks: a collision of sci-fi, period drama and horror. There is nothing cosy or predictable about Wells’ novel, and that’s what I want to capture in the show. We have an incredible cast, a brilliant director and a wonderful crew – and I can’t wait for them to explode the terrifying story of the first alien invasion on to our screens.”

War of the Worlds will air later this year on BBC One.