Disclosure Day: Spielberg goes back to what he does best

The legacy

What happens when the world finds out we’re not alone? That’s the premise behind Disclosure Day, Steven Spielberg’s new sci-fi film, hitting theatres June 12th in IMAX.

Spielberg built a good chunk of my childhood imagination when it comes to making first contact. Close Encounters (1977). E.T. (1982). Even War of the Worlds (2005), which doesn't get enough credit for how effectively terrifying it is. The man knows how to make these moments feel real — the awe, the dread, the quiet terror of realizing the universe is bigger than you thought.

Disclosure Day looks like it's tapping into all of that again.

And it's worth remembering that Spielberg's fingerprints have been on this genre even when he wasn't directing. J.J. Abrams' Super 8 back in 2011 was essentially a love letter to Spielberg's alien films — kids in a small Ohio town in the late '70s, a crash-landed alien, a government coverup, all shot through that same lens of wonder and dread. Spielberg produced it. It wasn't subtle about its influences, and it didn't need to be. But it was someone else channeling Spielberg's sensibility, not Spielberg himself. 

Disclosure Day is the real thing. This time Spielberg steps back into the director’s chair, with his own story, for the first time in over two decades.

What we know

Here's what we know. Josh O'Connor plays a whistleblower who gets his hands on long-held government secrets about extraterrestrial life. His plan is full disclosure — tell everyone, blow the whole thing open. Emily Blunt plays a meteorologist who starts speaking in what sounds like gibberish on live television. Except it might not be gibberish at all. Colin Firth is the authority figure trying to shut the whole thing down. Colman Domingo and Eve Hewson round out the cast.

The trailers have been doling out footage carefully, but there are glimpses of Roswell connections, black-and-white archival shots, and what looks like some alien tech in Firth's hands. Spielberg conceived the story himself, and David Koepp wrote the screenplay — the same guy who wrote Jurassic Park, The Lost World, and War of the Worlds for Spielberg. That partnership has a track record.

Behind the camera, it's a full reunion. Janusz Kamiński is back as cinematographer. John Williams is scoring it. It's his 30th collaboration with Spielberg.

Filming wrapped between February and May 2025 across New York, New Jersey, and Atlanta, under the working title "Non-View." 

The full trailer that dropped earlier today gives us the clearest look yet at what Spielberg and Koepp have been building.

Why this one feels different

This isn't a reboot. It's not a sequel either. It's not IP. 

It's Spielberg going back to the genre he helped define, with an original story of his own, at a point in history where the subject matter feels less like science fiction and more like a headline we could be familiar with.

Assuming the world holds together long enough to get there.

Full disclosure: on June 12th, I'll be there. 🤭

Resources:

• Disclosure Day Featurette - First Look (2026)
• Disclosure Day - IMDB
• Disclosure Day - Wikipedia