The new 'Disclosure Day trailer just dropped, and now we think it's a secret sequel to 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'

DISCLOSURE DAY Official Trailer (2026) Emily Blunt, Steven Spielberg - YouTube DISCLOSURE DAY Official Trailer (2026) Emily Blunt, Steven Spielberg - YouTube
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We don't know much about Steven Spielberg's new UFO saga, "Disclosure Day", but the studio just opened its tightly closed lid to reveal a few plot morsels with Friday's release of a melodramatic new trailer.

Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment are being very coy about showing or explaining too much about their sci-fi conspiracy thriller starring Emily Blunt ("Edge of Tomorrow," "A Quiet Place"), Josh O'Connor ("Challengers," "The Crown"), and Colin Firth ("The King’s Speech," "The Kingsman" films). The tentpole summer film also co-stars Colman Domingo, Wyatt Russell, and Eve Hewson.

"If you found out we weren't alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you?" Universal offered in the enigmatic synopsis delivered this past December. "This summer, the truth belongs to seven billion people. We are coming close to … 'Disclosure Day.’"

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a man in a house unloading a backpack

Josh O'Connor stars in Steven Spielberg's "Disclosure Day" (Image credit: Universal Pictures)

From the additional footage revealed in this latest preview, O’Connor’s UFO whistleblower character, Daniel Kellner, was a cybersecurity administrator for a high-tech company called Wardex. He's the custodian of some incriminating data pilfered from his former employer, which seems to be the same shadowy organization led by Colin Firth's sinister telepresence-using leader, and Kellner wants to share it globally.

The other major revelation here is that when Emily Blunt's Kansas City meteorologist begins speaking a clicking alien dialect while live on the air, Kellner admits to his girlfriend, Jane (Eve Hewson), that he can understand the language spoken.

We now know that this all leads back to the 1947 Roswell Incident as exposed by Domingo’s character, who angrily exclaims that "This 79-year terror campaign of lies has to end!" We also see a black-and-white image of a clapboard dated July 7, 1947, with the info of Roswell, NM, and #5 Occupant marking the subject of what the government was filming on that historic day, covered up for decades.

A black-and-white filmmaking clapboard

The truth is out there! Did it originate in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947? (Image credit: Universal Pictures)

With a myriad of mysteries still to dissect, it's important to remember that the trailer isn't showing sequential events, so it's easy to get tripped up in its presented timeline.

Is Emily Blunt the young girl visited in her bedroom by the freaky elk and cardinal? Is she a hybrid? Are there any actual aliens here as we understand them? Why is Colin Firth utilizing remote viewing technology, and who is the real villain? When exactly does this film take place? And is this Hollywood production meant to act as a soft disclosure to the world?

But the biggest question we have is: Is this a stealth sequel to "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"? Spielberg is no stranger to UFO stories, and none of them have linked together before now, but we're getting some serious "Close Encounters" vibes from this one.

There are no direct references, but a lot of the visuals and themes feel the same: a mysterious alien force communicating with humanity in an unconventional way, the glowing UFOs, and, of course, the shady government agency trying to cover it all up. There are more questions than answers at this point, so until more official plot details are revealed, we’re all just groping in the dark.

Based on an original story from Spielberg and a script penned by longtime collaborator David Koepp ("Jurassic Park: The Lost World," "War of the Worlds"), "Disclosure Day" lands in theaters on June 12, 2026.

Jeff Spry
Contributing Writer

Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.

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