Steven Spielberg believes humanity will discover extraterrestrial life within our lifetime, the legendary filmmaker said at the London premiere of his new alien thriller “Disclosure Day.” Speaking to the BBC, the 79-year-old director expressed optimism about the possibility of finding evidence of non-human intelligence, marking a shift from decades of speculation to conviction grounded in what he calls “circumstantial evidence which is overwhelming.”
Quick Facts
- Spielberg said his view on aliens has become “more realistic” and he’s “become more optimistic” that discoveries will be made.
- The film “Disclosure Day” releases June 12, 2026, and marks Spielberg’s return to the alien genre nearly 50 years after “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
- Spielberg changed his long-held position from requiring personal sighting of a UFO to accepting “circumstantial evidence which is overwhelming.”
- The cast includes Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, and Colman Domingo in a story centered on a decades-long government cover-up of alien evidence.
Spielberg told the BBC he has been fascinated by the question of extraterrestrial life for over four decades, from “E.T.” to “Close Encounters.” But his conviction has evolved. “I’ve been a believer since I made ‘Close Encounters’ 50 years ago,” he said in an interview with AP. “But I would always say: Until I’ve seen a UAP or a UFO with my own eyes, I’m not going to categorically state that life from out there has come here. But I’ve changed that.”
“Disclosure Day” imagines what would happen if proof of non-human intelligence was revealed to the world. The film follows a meteorologist and a cybersecurity expert who uncover evidence of a long-running government cover-up. Spielberg emphasized that despite its science-fiction premise, the story is grounded in reality. “It’s my first film that will be considered science fiction that I do not consider to be science fiction,” he said. “It’s much more reflective of the world as it is evolving and discoveries that are being made as we speak.”
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Spielberg’s shift in perspective appears influenced by recent public discourse around unidentified anomalous phenomena. In 2023, the House Subcommittee on National Security held hearings where whistleblower David Grusch, a former Air Force intelligence officer, testified that the government concealed a program investigating UAPs. Spielberg produced a 50-page treatment for “Disclosure Day” following those testimonies, and worked intensively with screenwriter David Koepp on the script.
The director also stressed that discovering alien life would be fundamentally about humanity. “It’s about empathy and bringing people together,” he told the BBC. “An event like discovering the existence of aliens would bring people together.” Cast members echoed this message. Emily Blunt, who plays meteorologist Margaret Fairchild, said she hoped confirmation of extraterrestrial life would inspire “wonder rather than fear.” Josh O’Connor, playing a cybersecurity expert, suggested that contact with intelligent life beyond Earth could force people to transcend their differences.
Sources
- BBC — Steven Spielberg’s statement at the London premiere that he believes aliens will be discovered in our lifetime, his evolved view on extraterrestrial life, and cast statements.
- ABC News — Spielberg’s interview on his changed position from requiring personal UFO sighting to accepting circumstantial evidence, details on the film’s plot and cast, and his inspiration from 2023 House Subcommittee hearings on UAPs.
