Steven Spielberg's 'Disclosure Day' asks humanity one huge question in chilling new trailer and we aren't ready
For months, Steven Spielberg's upcoming science-fiction film 'Disclosure Day' has existed as a hush-hush project because nobody really knew what it was about. No clear storyline. No proper title until late last year. Just a sense that something big was cooking, and that it involved UFOs, and the director who basically showed Hollywood how to make audiences look up in wonder. Now, during 'Super Bowl LX' on February 8, Universal finally cracked the door open and let some light spill out. Not much. But enough. The newly released trailer offers the most revealing footage so far, though "revealing" might be doing a lot of heavy lifting here because Spielberg is still very much in tease mode.
The preview opens with a news broadcast that feels unsettling, reporting on a looming "threat to publicly release government material, long shrouded in secrecy." Josh O'Connor appears at the center of this storm, playing a character determined to bring hidden material into public view, whatever the cost. In one tense moment, he presents something unseen to another character, prompting a hesitant question: "Are they people?" His answer comes fast: "No." That single word does more work than a full speech ever could.
From there, the footage jumps around, refusing to hold your hand or explain itself. There's urgency. There's motion. There's a sequence that places characters on top of a moving car, and later, a haunting image of something massive pushing through thick clouds. Its shape is unfamiliar and unmistakable at the same time. A craft, maybe. Or something else entirely. Spielberg has always trusted audiences to fill in the blanks, and the trailer doesn't explain the rules of this world or spell out the stakes in bold letters. It just lets the unease simmer. The film is built from an original idea by Spielberg himself, with the script penned by longtime collaborator David Koepp.
Their creative partnership stretches back decades, and 'Disclosure Day' marks the fifth time Koepp has written a screenplay based on Spielberg's concepts, as per IndieWire. Universal also released a short, carefully worded synopsis alongside the trailer, framed more like a question than a summary. It asks viewers, "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." Emily Blunt plays a key role in the story, though the trailer keeps her character largely under wraps, showing her mostly in fleeting moments.
She's joined by an impressive supporting cast that includes Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, and Eve Hewson, according to USA Today. Behind the camera, Spielberg is surrounded by familiar collaborators who know how to translate his instincts onto the screen. Janusz Kamiński returns as director of photography, while Kristie Macosko Krieger produces. John Williams is also back, scoring the film after previously suggesting that 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' might be his final outing. Clearly, some projects are hard to walk away from. Universal Pictures will release 'Disclosure Day' exclusively in theaters on Friday, June 12.
