Photo Credit: Noam Galai/Getty Images for Shoah Foundation Steven Spielberg’s highly successful alien movie is heading to Hulu’s content library very soon. Marking the director’s second collaboration with Tom Cruise, the film follows a man’s desperate attempts to protect his kids during a world-ending alien invasion. War of the Worlds releases on Hulu next month War of the Worlds lands on Hulu’s platform on Friday, May 1, 2026 (via Hulu).

The film is based on H. G. Wells’s 1898 sci-fi novel of the same name. Steven Spielberg helmed the film with a screenplay by Josh Friedman (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and Apple TV’s Foundation) and David Koepp (Jurassic Park and Spider-Man).

In War of the Worlds, a highly intelligent alien species from Mars, the Martians, arrive on Earth to take over the planet after their home planet becomes uninhabitable. The story centers on Ray Ferrier, a divorced longshoreman, who protects his two children, Rachel and Robbie, when the alien invasion begins suddenly. Spielberg’s adaptation has altered several aspects of the book to align with the modern world.

Unlike the book, where the invasion takes place in 1890s England, the film is set in the 21st century, in New York. Furthermore, an unnamed narrator recounts the terrifying events in the book. Meanwhile, the film shows the invasion as it happens, exploring Ray’s story.

The film also makes certain thematic and tonal changes. The cast includes Tom Cruise as Ray, Dakota Fanning as Rachel, Miranda Otto as Mary Ann, Tim Robbins as Harlan, Justin Chatwin as Robbie, Rick Gonzalez as Vincent, and Yul Vazquez as Julio, among others. Released on June 29, 2005, the film opened to a mixed-to-positive reception.

The critics gave it a high rating of 76%. Meanwhile, the audience was less impressed, resulting in a 42% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, War of the Worlds was a massive commercial success.

The film was produced on a reported $120 million budget. And ended its theatrical run with a $603.8 million global haul. Plus, it received three Oscar nominations: Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Visual Effects. In addition to War of the Worlds, Spielberg and Cruise’s Minority Report is also arriving on the platform.