Maybury, England, 1894 

N1: It is a peaceful night in the village of Maybury.

N2: Henry and Clara are out for an evening walk. 

N3: What they don’t know is that Earth is being watched. 

N1: Powerful beings from another planet are looking down on them. 

N2: They envy Earth’s grassy land and blue seas.

Henry: What is that sound?

Clara (pointing up): Look! 

N3: A flaming object shoots through the sky. 

Clara: What is that?

Henry: It must be a meteor! 

N1: The object crashes in the distance. Henry and Clara walk toward the crash.

A field just outside Maybury

N2: Henry and Clara walk for a mile. They reach a smoky pit in the middle of a field. 

N3: A scientist named Ogilvy stares down into the pit. 

Henry: Looks like you found the meteor. 

Ogilvy: I don’t think it’s a meteor. It’s shaped like a cylinder. See?

Clara: How odd. 

Ogilvy: I believe it is from another planet. A few nights ago, I saw a red flash moving from Mars toward Earth!

Henry: Really? Wow!

N1: More people show up. 

Villager: What is that thing? 

Henry: It may be from Mars. 

Crowd (laughing): Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

N2: A scratching sound comes from the cylinder. The crowd freezes.

Villager: Something is coming out!

N3: A gray creature about the size of a bear rises up out of the pit. 

N1: It has two dark eyes. Its skin shines like wet leather.

Crowd: Gasp! 

N2: Another creature appears. 

Villager: Monsters! Run!

N3: Henry and Clara climb a nearby hill. From there, they have a good view of the pit.

N1: The couple watches a group of other scientists join Ogilvy at the pit. 

Ogilvy: We come in peace!

N2: A dark shape rises slowly. 

N3: Then—a flash of light!

N1: Flames shoot at the men. They fall to the ground.

Henry: No!

N2: The flames spread across the field and into the town.

N3: Bushes, trees, and houses catch on fire.  

Clara and Henry’s house, the next morning

N1: Clara and Henry stand in front of their house.

N2: A neighbor walks by. 

Neighbor: What’s the trouble? You two look like you’ve seen a ghost.

Henry: Not a ghost—Martians. They shoot fire!

Neighbor (laughing): Oh yes, I heard. It all seems so silly. 

N3: Another villager walks by. 

Henry: What’s the latest news from town?

Villager: A second cylinder fell near the woods. 

Clara: No!

Villager: Don’t worry. Those brainless blobs are no match for our soldiers. 

N1: Pop! Pop! Pop!

Villager: See? That’s our boys firing their guns. Thousands of men against a couple of creatures! 

N2: A violent crash shakes the ground. 

Henry: I don’t think we should stay here.

Clara: Where can we go?

Henry: To my cousin in Leatherhead. 

N3: The tops of nearby trees burst into flames.

Henry: We need to go. NOW!

The road to Leatherhead

N1: Henry and Clara sit in a horse-drawn cart.

N2: It rattles down a dirt road. 

N3: Behind them, smoke rises into the air. 

Clara (looking back): The entire world is on fire. 

Henry: If we can get you to Leatherhead, you will be safe. But I must go back to Maybury and help the fight.

Clara: It’s too dangerous. We barely got out alive!

Henry: I will return to you, Clara. I promise.

The road away from Leatherhead, that evening

N1: Henry takes the cart back toward Maybury.

N2: Suddenly, a huge metal tripod appears on the road. It shoots fire at anything that moves.

Henry: Gasp!

N3: Henry dives into the bushes. He hides as the machine passes by. 

N1: Then a soldier appears. 

Henry: Sir, what happened? 

Soldier: We were about to fire upon a cylinder. I heard an explosion. Then everything around me was burnt to a crisp.

Henry: How did you survive?

Soldier: I hid in a pit. But the rest of the soldiers I was with are gone.

Henry: What was that tripod I saw?

Soldier: A fighting machine. The Martians climb inside. It can’t be destroyed.

Henry: Does Maybury still stand? 

Soldier: Maybury burns. I fear the whole world will too. We are no longer masters of our planet. 

On the road 

N2: Henry turns back to Leatherhead. 

N3: In the next town, people smile. They casually pack their things.

Henry (shouting): Don’t you know what’s happening? Death! Death is coming!

Woman: Poor man. He’s gone mad. The army has got things under control. 

Henry: You aren’t listening. You need to go—now ! 

N1: The people ignore Henry, so he continues on. 

N2: Henry sees a man sitting in the dirt crying. 

Joe: This is the end of us!

Henry: There is still hope, good man. I know we’ll find a way. There are millions of us.  

N3: Pop! Pop! More gunfire.

N1: A black cloud spreads over the valley. 

Henry: Poison gas! Run!

N2: The men run to the next village.

N3: They break into an empty house and hide.

N1: Then—an explosion. Pieces of the ceiling fall down. 

Henry: Are you all right? 

Joe: I think so.

N2: The men stay still until morning. 

N3: Then Henry looks out through a hole in the wall. 

Henry (whispering): Another cylinder has struck right next to this house. A Martian is standing guard. And there’s a metal cage full of . . . 

Joe: What? Full of what?

Henry: People. 

N1: Henry gasps. 

Henry: The Martians are taking blood from the humans. They’re . . . feeding on us.

The same house, one week later

N2: Joe and Henry are still hiding. A small pile of food sits between them.

N3: Henry looks through the hole in the wall.

Henry: The ground is covered in a strange red weed. It’s like they are trying to turn Earth into Mars.

Joe: Who cares? We are going to starve here. 

Henry: Don’t give up. 

Joe: What is the point of living? What kind of world will be left?

Henry: I must survive. I must get back to my Clara!

N1: Suddenly, Joe grabs the food and shoves it into his mouth. 

Henry: We agreed to share that food! 

Joe: I’m hungry! 

N2: Joe throws the bread on the floor.

Joe (shouting): Enough! I’ve had enough!

N3: Joe runs toward the door.

Joe: Just let it be over! 

N1: Henry tries to stop Joe from leaving. But he fails.

N2: He watches as Joe is put into one of the cages.

The same house, two days later

N3: Henry wakes up from a deep sleep. All is silent.

N1: He crawls to the hole in the wall. 

Henry (to himself): I see the tripods, but . . . why aren’t they moving?

N2: Henry walks outside. Everything is covered with red weeds.

N3: Among the weeds are Martians—dead. 

Henry: Is the war over?

N1: Henry slowly makes his way back to Maybury.

N2: Everything is destroyed. 

Henry (crying): Am I the last man on Earth?

N3: But when he gets to his house, it is still standing. 

N1: And Clara runs out. 

Clara: Oh, Henry! Everyone said you were dead, but I knew . . .

N2: They run to each other and hug.

Henry: The Martians are all dead? How can it be?

Clara: Some kind of human disease killed them. They had no defense against our germs.

N3: Henry and Clara hold each other.

N1: And the sky glows orange from the setting sun.