Spielberg’s ‘Disclosure Day’ Gets Early Raves — Emily Blunt Is Already in the Awards Conversation
The final trailer for Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day is here, and early critic reactions are calling it ‘top tier Spielberg.’ The alien thriller starring Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor opens June 12.
- The final trailer for Disclosure Day — Steven Spielberg’s first sci-fi film in eight years — dropped Thursday, and Spielberg himself narrates it, saying: “I am much more inclined now than I was when I made Close Encounters to really believe that we’re not the only intelligent civilization in the universe”
- Early critic screenings are generating significant buzz: Collider’s Steve Weintraub called it “another towering home run,” adding that Emily Blunt is “incredible” and the film could factor into awards season
- The film stars Emily Blunt as Margaret, a Kansas City weather anchor whose eyes are opened by a strange experience on live television, and Josh O’Connor as Daniel Kellner, a cybersecurity expert turned government whistleblower threatening to release proof of alien life
- The cast also includes Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, and Eve Hewson; the screenplay is by David Koepp, who previously wrote Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull for Spielberg; John Williams is scoring
- Disclosure Day opens in theaters June 12 from Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment; fans are already speculating it may be a secret sequel to Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Steven Spielberg has been quiet on the sci-fi front for eight years. That ends June 12.
Universal Pictures dropped the final trailer for Disclosure Day on Thursday, and it comes with something unexpected: Spielberg himself on camera, speaking directly to the audience. “I am much more inclined now than I was when I made Close Encounters to really believe that we’re not the only intelligent civilization in the universe,” he says, before the film’s footage takes over.
The premise follows Daniel Kellner — played by Josh O’Connor — a cybersecurity expert who has stolen long-held government secrets about proof of living beings not from Earth and threatens to release them to the public. Emily Blunt plays Margaret, a Kansas City weather anchor who gets drawn into the story after something strange happens to her on live television. The official synopsis frames it simply: “If you found out we weren’t alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you? This summer, the truth belongs to seven billion people. We are coming close to … Disclosure Day.”
The final trailer is the first to show the aliens directly — previous trailers leaned into mystery and suggestion. What’s on screen, per ComingSoon, confirms Spielberg is “ready to fully lean into the extraterrestrial aspect.”
The Early Reactions
Critics who’ve seen the film early are not being quiet about it. “In a shock to absolutely no one, Steven Spielberg has delivered another towering home run with Disclosure Day,” Collider’s Steve Weintraub wrote. “I could go on and on about what I loved, but I was lucky enough to see the movie knowing almost nothing, and I strongly recommend you do the same. Stop watching the trailers. The one thing I will say: Emily Blunt is incredible.”
CBR’s roundup of early reactions describes the film as “top tier Spielberg” and notes the early consensus that Blunt’s performance could put her in the awards conversation — an unusual development for a summer blockbuster.
The Team Behind It
The script comes from David Koepp, who has worked with Spielberg more than any other living writer. His Spielberg credits include Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The film is produced by Kristie Macosko Krieger, whose recent credits include The Fabelmans and West Side Story, and John Williams is returning to score — his first Spielberg film since The Fabelmans in 2022.
Spielberg’s alien films have a particular legacy: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and War of the Worlds (2005) are all part of it, and the new trailer’s deliberate callbacks to that history have fans speculating that Disclosure Day may be a stealth continuation of that universe. No confirmation from the studio, but the conversation is already running.
Disclosure Day opens June 12 from Universal Pictures. Tickets are on sale now.
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