Steven Spielberg’s latest sci-fi film, Disclosure Day, explores a question that has long fascinated filmmakers and scientists: if aliens exist, should the public be told? The movie stars Josh O’Connor as a whistleblower determined to reveal a vast government cover-up of extraterrestrial contact.
The film marks Spielberg’s fourth alien-themed movie, following Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ET, and War of the Worlds. However, it is the first directly inspired by news headlines, specifically the New York Times’ 2017 reporting on a secret Pentagon UAP programme. Spielberg conceived the story after reading about the programme, which included videos from fighter jets of close encounters.
Disclosure Day blends the wonder and terror of alien contact with a 1970s-style political thriller. O’Connor’s character Daniel Kellner, alongside Emily Blunt’s weather reporter Margaret Fairchild, uncovers secrets buried within themselves. Screenwriter David Koepp cited the 1975 thriller Three Days of the Condor as a touchstone.
The film’s release is timely, following comments from former US presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump about releasing government information on alien life. Colin Firth plays Noah Scanlon, head of a shadowy contractor called Wardex, who possesses advanced mind-control technology known as “the device”. This tech, capable of projecting holograms and controlling others, raises questions about secrecy in spycraft and warfare.
The movie asks whether humanity is ready for the news that we are not alone. Drawing on sci-fi classics like The War of the Worlds and Contact, it suggests that such revelation could cause societal panic. Disclosure Day addresses current concerns about transparency, misinformation, and technology abuse, set against a fictional geopolitical crisis.
