Just as Congress drafts new UAP disclosure legislation and prepares for additional hearings on unidentified anomalous phenomena, the director who arguably shaped our collective imagination about extraterrestrial contact is returning to the subject that made him a household name. Coincidence? Perhaps. But those familiar with the decades-long UFO cover-up and Spielberg's curious relationship with it might wonder if there's something more at play.
Filming wrapped in late May 2025 on Spielberg's new UFO project, which stars Emily Blunt, Colin Firth, Josh O'Connor, Colman Domingo, and Wyatt Russell. The film, penned by longtime Spielberg collaborator David Koepp (who wrote Jurassic Park and War of the Worlds), is scheduled for release on 12 June 2026—smack in the middle of summer blockbuster season.
What we know about the plot is frustratingly sparse. Early footage descriptions suggest menacing figures in black cars pursuing Blunt's character, with Colin Firth playing some sort of sinister leader—all very Men in Black, very conspiracy-laden. Koepp has hinted it will evoke the spirit of Spielberg's earlier classics like Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
And John Williams is scoring the film, marking the legendary composer's 30th collaboration with Spielberg.
Here's where things get properly fascinating. For decades, there's been this persistent whisper in UFO circles—call it conspiracy theory or uncomfortable truth, depending on your perspective—that Spielberg's alien films weren't entirely his own imagination. That he was, perhaps, being fed information. Or at the very least, encouraged by certain government interests to prepare the public for eventual disclosure.
During the production of Close Encounters in 1976, rumours circulated amongst the cast and crew that the film was "part of the necessary training that the human race must go through in order to accept an actual landing, and is being secretly sponsored by a government UFO agency". Actor Bob Balaban even noted this in his production diary at the time.
Even Spielberg himself seemed to flirt with the idea. In a 1977 promotional interview, he remarked: "I wouldn't put it past this government that a cosmic Watergate has been underway for the last 25 years"—quite the statement for a Hollywood director trying to sell cinema tickets.
"I wouldn't put it past this government that a cosmic Watergate has been underway for the last 25 years"
Then there's the curious matter of President Jimmy Carter—who'd had his own UFO sighting in 1969—hosting a private White House screening of Close Encounters. The secrecy surrounding that event was remarkable, with Carter's staff apparently keen to avoid associating the administration too publicly with flying saucers.
The film's technical advisor was Dr. J. Allen Hynek, the former Project Blue Book consultant who'd become convinced the government was hiding something about UFOs. The connections run deep, and they're documented.
Which brings us rather neatly to today's situation. Whilst Spielberg has been crafting his new UFO narrative, Congress has been conducting its own public drama around UAP disclosure and government transparency.
In September 2025, military whistleblowers testified before the House Oversight Committee, sharing details about encounters with baffling orbs and craft that appeared to eclipse existing weapons technology. Representative Eric Burlison unveiled footage showing a US military drone firing a Hellfire missile at a high-speed orb off Yemen—the object appeared to be hit but continued on its way.
Representatives Anna Paulina Luna and Tim Burchett have introduced the UAP Whistleblower Protection Act, whilst Representative Burlison submitted the UAP Disclosure Act of 2025 as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.
Just last week, congressional pressure mounted as Rep. Luna demanded NASA release classified 3i Atlas images—another example of lawmakers pushing against decades of institutional secrecy.
So here we are. Spielberg has said publicly that he's concerned about the "secrecy and lack of transparency" surrounding UAP sightings, stating "something is going on". He's clearly been following the congressional hearings and whistleblower testimonies.
The cultural moment has shifted dramatically since Close Encounters. We live in an era where people film strange lights with iPhones, where Reddit threads dissect footage with fevered intensity, and where the government stammers through congressional hearings about unidentified aerial phenomena. The mystery hasn't vanished; it's evolved—become more fractured, more paranoid, more desperately hungry for truth.
Is Spielberg's new film arriving at precisely the right moment by accident? Or is there, once again, a larger orchestration at work?
Whether you believe Spielberg is merely an artist responding to the zeitgeist or something more deliberate, his timing is impeccable. The film arrives in June 2026, right as congressional UAP investigations continue to intensify and government transparency efforts face mounting pressure.
The question isn't whether Spielberg will deliver a compelling film—that's practically guaranteed with this cast and crew. The question is whether his latest UFO story will land in a world that's finally ready to confront the possibility that some of those old "conspiracy theories" might have been closer to the truth than comfortable.
As one commentator put it: "Decades after Close Encounters, in a world that's more skeptical, more exhausted, and far less enchanted… what does he see now that we don't?"
I suspect we'll find out in June 2026. And I'll be in the cinema on opening night, watching
