The 2005 film:
- Backed by the Pentagon: The film included military units from the US Army and Marine Corps.
- Missing Trailer Scene: The neighborhood scene from the first trailer
is never shown. - Playing Against Type: Steven Spielberg is no stranger to films about aliens coming on Earth with Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. But this time, the aliens are not benevolent and it's a disaster film.
- Referenced by...: Lego Alien Conquest has a nearly 1:1 copy of the Harvester Tripod, a betentacled jail cell on legs that captures people as Human Resources.
- What Could Have Been: Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise approached J. J. Abrams to write the script. He declined, as he was busy working on the pilot for Lost.
