Legendary director Steven Spielberg is returning to familiar territory this summer. Like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and even War of the Worlds, his latest project, Disclosure Day, imagines a world where aliens visit our planet.
However, in a recent interview, Spielberg suggested that aliens may not just be science fiction.
Spielberg Explains the Premise of Disclosure Day
While promoting Disclosure Day, Spielberg sat down with Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz on CBS Sunday Morning.
Mankiewicz and Spielberg discussed the director’s long career, his inspirations, and aliens. Mankiewicz noted that Close Encounters of the Third Kind ends with the arrival of aliens. He suggested that Steven Spielberg believes the aliens never left. It’s an idea the director explores in his new film.
A crop circle in Disclosure Day – Universal Pictures, YouTube
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“Disclosure Day is about how if somebody had the power and if somebody had possession of the entire archive of visual evidence of what’s been happening for the last 80 years,” Spielberg explained. “What would happen if they decided to do a data dump across the entire world all at once?”
The director said the new film follows those trying to prevent that information from being released to the public.
Spielberg expressed his belief that audiences will unite around a fascination with the extraordinary. As the man who gave moviegoers everything from Jaws to Indiana Jones, convincing audiences of the impossible—at least while they are in the theater—has defined his long career.
Yet with Disclosure Day, Spielberg appears to be offering something more than simple escapism.
A Lifelong Fascination With UFOs
“I think UAP, UFO, the whole phenomenon is something that everybody across any spectrum, culturally, politically, can agree on,” Spielberg said.
A shot from Disclosure Day – Universal Pictures, YouTube
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Mankiewicz noted that the director views Disclosure Day as a bookend to Close Encounters of the Third Kind and a continuation of his lifelong fascination with space. However, while Spielberg said he believes alien craft have been recovered and that those in power are keeping things hidden, he has personally never witnessed anything unusual in the night sky.
“I deserve a sighting!” Spielberg said. “I need a sighting. I’m an ambassador for these guys and they haven’t shown themselves to me. I don’t get that,” he joked.
“Maybe They’ve Always Been Here”
Finally, Steven Spielberg was asked whether he believes aliens have visited Earth—and whether they could still be here.
Emily Blunt in Disclosure Day – Universal Pictures, YouTube
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“Based on the circumstantial evidence of everything that I’ve gathered throughout my whole life, everybody I’ve listened to and every documentary I’ve ever watched and all the testimonies in Congress that I’ve heard, I absolutely think that they have been here and they are here and who knows maybe they’ve always been here,” Spielberg said.
Ultimately, whether Spielberg truly believes or not may not matter—though the idea may add to the experience of some watching Disclosure Day. The director’s fascination with extraterrestrial life has shaped some of the most iconic films of his career, making his latest comments particularly noteworthy.
Audiences will have to decide for themselves how plausible those ideas are when Disclosure Day arrives in theaters on June 12.
Do you agree with Steven Spielberg about aliens? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
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