Steven Spielberg has returned to the summer blockbuster scene with “Disclosure Day,” a thriller following a television meteorologist (Emily Blunt) and a whistleblower (Josh O’Connor) entangled in an 80-year government cover-up of extraterrestrial life.
While the film delivers high-stakes chase scenes, Spielberg notes that “Disclosure Day,” which opened in theaters Friday, is less about traditional science fiction and more about how humanity would respond to a world-altering truth. The film forces audiences to confront how a confirmed cosmic discovery would affect global institutions — including religion, Spielberg detailed to CBS News.
What Spielberg said about ‘Disclosure Day’
“If this truth were just known overnight, if the government announced, ‘Yes, we have been keeping this from you since 1947,’ that would mess up a lot of people,” Spielberg told CBS News. “And the movie also takes the position of the church. What does this do to the fundamental beliefs that many of us have? And is God, our God only on this planet, or is God a God for every system where there’s civilization, intelligent life, and even developing life?”
Throughout his career, Spielberg has used films to hold up a mirror to real-world concerns, from the post-Watergate government distrust of 1977’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” to the post-9/11 panic of 2005’s “War of the Worlds.”
Spielberg noted the film focuses on human connection, opening the movie with shots of small American flags, according to The Associated Press. He noted that every film should have “great emphasis on empathy,” calling it a vital human trait that people frequently fail to show one another.
Alongside those heavy philosophical questions, Spielberg still managed to sneak in a bit of personal Americana. He told The Associated Press he was sure to include a favorite cereal: Froot Loops.
The context of ‘Disclosure Day’
While Spielberg’s 1977 sci-fi alien project was based more off speculation, Spielberg told The Associated Press that “Disclosure Day” is the real thing.
The director views the project as something more than just a sci-fi adventure. “Its easier for me to describe it as my first film that will be considered science fiction that I do not consider to be science fiction,” Spielberg told The Associated Press. “It is much more reflective of the world as it is evolving and discoveries that are being made as we speak.”
“Disclosure Day” arrives during a time where political conversation has surrounded Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or UAPs. Spielberg followed reports of supposed alien encounters closely, drawing inspiration from the 2023 House Subcommittee on National Security hearings, he told The Associated Press. One testimony came from former Air Force intelligence officer David Grusch, who testified that the government concealed a program investigating UAPs, an accusation the Pentagon denied.
In April, President Donald Trump’s released a statement noting the Pentagon was prepared to release UFO files, which were released in May, as previously reported by the Deseret News.
Instead of framing potential cosmic neighbors as a threat to faith, the film uses the premise to advocate for humility. Co-star Blunt noted that the narrative speaks to a need for humans to understand their place in the universe.
“It brings into question how much really we can control,” Blunt told Time magazine. “I think it would be an arrogant thing to presume we are alone in the universe or that we are the most powerful, technologically advanced civilization.”
Blunt noted that those on the film conducted research into congressional hearings and documentaries that revealed a common theme among real-world witnesses, regardless of their backgrounds.
“The people who had these experiences (encountering UFOs), whether they were from a religious background, wildly different political backgrounds, there was just a peacefulness that had taken over them,” Blunt said. “Whether they were discredited, laughed at, lost their jobs, they knew what they had seen, they had shifted because of it. It was inarguable they had experienced something profound.”
The film opened on June 12 with an 81% approval rating from critics and a 74% score from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
“Disclosure Day” is rated PG-13 for action, violence, a few bloody images and strong language, according to the IMDb Parents Guide.