Across his entire career, Steven Spielberg has delivered some of the greatest films ever made about alien life. First he probed the unknowable mystery of it all, in 1977’s Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. Then he explored notions of human connection and childhood friendship in 1982’s E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. And in 2005, he exorcised the terror and paranoia of post-9/11 America in an adaptation of War Of The Worlds. Now, over 20 years later, Spielberg has aliens on the brain once again – questioning whether the truth is, indeed, out there with his brand new summer blockbuster, Disclosure Day.
The film explores the idea of ‘disclosure’ – namely, whether humanity has made contact with extra-terrestrial life, and if the general public deserves to know. And Spielberg himself is firmly on one side of that argument. “If I could know, I would want to know,” he tells Empire in a major new interview. “Who would not want to know?” The ramifications of such a radical revelation – that aliens exist, and we’ve made contact – would have considerable ramifications for the entire planet, part of the central tension in Disclosure Day. “There are also great questions on what kind of social and theological disruption would occur if such an event was disclosed beyond anyone’s reasonable doubts,” says the filmmaker.
Spielberg wrote Disclosure Day’s story himself, before entrusting the project to regular screenwriting collaborator David Koepp (Jurassic Park and War Of The Worlds, among others). And while audiences love to see him in alien-blockbuster mode, this is personal for Spielberg too. “I have seven solid decades of a vast personal interest in what lies beyond our atmosphere, in the cosmos, and what is within our atmosphere right here on planet Earth,” he says. This time, he has something new to say on the subject. “The question has always remained for me: are we alone on our own planet? I cannot imagine that we are alone out there. That question has not only haunted me, but it has inspired me. But, I think, it has now resolved itself to my satisfaction in Disclosure Day.”
It’s a fascination that goes all the way back to his formative years, shaped by the childhood that he fictionalised in 2022’s The Fabelmans. “My dad took me outside when I was five years old in New Jersey to watch a meteor shower,” he remembers. “Then he built me a homemade reflecting telescope, where I was able to see the moons around Jupiter and the rings around Saturn. So, I give credit to my father for instilling in me both values of science and imagination.” Over 70 years later, Spielberg’s still looking to the skies.
The new issue of Empire features a major new Steven Spielberg interview, on his lifelong sci-fi obsession, his legendary contributions to the genre, and how it all culminates in his new original feature, Disclosure Day. Plus, we sit down with the Disclosure Day cast – Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, and Eve Hewson – and screenwriter David Koepp to get the first word on the summer’s most top-secret blockbuster. Find the Steven Spielberg issue on newsstands from Thursday April 9. Pre-order a copy online here. Disclosure Day comes to cinemas from June 12.
Steven Spielberg shot exclusively for Empire in Los Angeles by Art Streiber.
