Steven Spielberg Finally Breaks Silence On First Alien Sci-Fi Return In 21 Years With Disclosure Day

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By Adam Bentz

Published Feb 9, 2026, 2:39 PM EST

Adam Bentz is a senior news writer at ScreenRant, where he has authored nearly 5,000 articles, including features and lists. He studied creative writing and English with a concentration in screenwriting at Southern New Hampshire University and interned as a writer/journalist for The Borgen Project, an influential organization that fights global poverty.

However, one of his proudest achievements is editing a Leonardo DiCaprio freakout compilation that has over 150K views on YouTube. Adam also fancies himself an amateur film critic on his personal website.

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Steven Spielberg finally breaks his silence on his return to alien sci-fi for the first time in 21 years with his upcoming film, Disclosure Day.

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Though the legendary director became a household name with Jaws in 1975, he went on to direct several alien sci-fi films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). During the 2000s, he returned to the genre for War of the Worlds (2005).

Now, following the Super Bowl trailer, the director talked about Disclosure Day for the very first time in a new promotional video, "A First Look with Steven Spielberg." Intercut with footage from the film, the director talked about how Disclosure Day is inspired by his lifelong fascination with unexplained phenomena, his childhood curiosity about the night sky, and his belief in extraterrestrial life.

Further than that, Disclosure Day explores humanity's curiosity about the unknown, growing public interest in whether life exists beyond Earth, and the urgent question of whether we are alone. Read Spielberg's full comments or watch the video below:

I've always been fascinated with things that cannot be explained, and I've made a lot of movies about things that cannot be explained, from sharks to saucers. When I was just a little kid, I remember developing a real curiosity about the sky at night and what's happening up there, and also not the possibility but the guarantee that there is life off this planet. People's questions about what is not only going on in our skies, but what is going on in our worlds, in our realities, has reached a critical mass, of people's complete fascination with: Are we alone or are we not alone? And if someone knows we're not alone, why haven't we been told?

Though the Disclosure Day trailer has kept much of its plot under wraps, the sci-fi film is written by David Koepp, who previously wrote the scripts for Spielberg's Jurassic Park (1993), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), War of the Worlds (2005) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).

Disclosure Day's star-studded cast includes Emily Blunt as a Kansas City TV meteorologist, Josh O'Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo, Wyatt Russell, Elizabeth Marvel as a nun, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Michael Gaston, Mckenna Bridger, Elliot Villar, Tommy Martinez, Patricia Conolly, Noah Robbins, Chavo Guerrero Jr., Lance Archer, Brian Cage, and Gabby Beans.

Though Spielberg's past alien sci-films – such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., and War of the Worlds, brought extraterrestrials to life through encounters, emotional bonds, and invasions, Disclosure Day seems to shift inward. Rather than spectacle, the film appears to be focused on curiosity, uncertainty, and the human need to understand what lies beyond our world and ourselves.

Spielberg suggests a more cerebral approach to Disclosure Day, examining why humanity remains captivated by the mystery of what lies beyond Earth. By centering on questions instead of creatures, Disclosure Day positions itself as a meditation on belief, fear, and hope – channeling a desire for clarity regarding the urgent question of whether we are alone in the universe.

Disclosure Day releases in theaters on June 12.