Steven Spielberg Made 'Disclosure Day' To Bring Humanity Together Again

Why It Matters

As a major director tackling UFO disclosure, Spielberg is likely to mainstream and humanize a once-marginal topic, prompting broader cultural and political conversations about trust, transparency and the role of empathy in democratic societies.

Summary

Steven Spielberg's new film Disclosure Day returns him to science fiction with a story about government secrecy over extraterrestrial encounters, inspired in part by recent New York Times reporting on UAPs. Rather than investigate whistleblowers, Spielberg built a fictional narrative on decades of public sightings and modern smartphone evidence, focusing the plot on two lead characters played by Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor. The director says the movie emphasizes empathy and community over spectacle, and required dozens of script drafts as actors shaped their roles. Spielberg frames the film as a human story about what might unite people if proof of aliens emerged.

Original Description

Steven Spielberg joins Rachel Abrams on “The Daily” to talk about his return to alien movies with “Disclosure Day.” The iconic director also discusses how fear has always fueled his filmmaking, and why people stopped talking to him after “Jaws.”

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