Disclosure Day (2026)
SHOULD I SEE IT?
YES
When it matters most, Steven Spielberg reminds us why he is such a visionary storyteller.
Emily Blunt gives what may be a career-best performance, and Josh O’Connor helps lead a strong ensemble cast.
John Williams’ score feels youthful and urgent, the technical aspects are sound and Disclosure Day is an immersive viewing experience.
NO
Immersive, yes. Dense and dialogue-driven? Also, yes. The set-up for the film provides a slow, plodding first hour that may cause some viewers to check out.
Makes me long for a more curious and wondering Spielberg. I wonder what this movie would have looked like 20-30 years ago, as opposed to today.
David Koepp’s screenplay feels convoluted at times, on-the-nose and heavy-handed in others. While there are positives, the movie tends to over-explain itself, which hampers its impact.
OUR REVIEW
At its core, Disclosure Day is a film probing for truth. Like many researchers and conspiracy theorists, Steven Spielberg’s 37th feature film seeks answers around existence, isolation as a human condition, and whether we truly are alone in the universe. Anyone familiar with the legendary filmmaker’s previous science-fiction stories knows where Disclosure Day is going to land. Spielberg is not interested in questioning whether intelligent life exists beyond Earth. He has stated he believes a “disclosure” is likely upon us, and his latest film works from the assumption that contact between humans and extraterrestrials has already occurred.
That premise is hardly a new one. But it remains an exciting one when Spielberg is the storyteller. Somewhat surprisingly, Disclosure Day is less a blockbuster spectacle and more a thoughtful, conversation-driven film. Working from a dense screenplay by longtime collaborator David Koepp (this is their fifth film together), Spielberg offers audiences a dialogue-heavy mystery that often feels more interested in explaining things than letting audiences experience something new. For those deeply invested in stories of government cover-ups, top secret evidence, whistleblowers, and alien encounters, this may stoke those deeply-felt passions. Others, however, may find the film hard to follow with such layered and consistent exposition.
There remain moments where Spielberg reminds us why he is one of the greatest directors of all time. Emily Blunt gives one of her finest performances as Margaret, a television journalist who becomes an unexpected conduit for languages of all kinds, while also developing telepathic capabilities. When she begins speaking in oddly rhythmic clicks, she gains the attention of Daniel (Josh O’Connor), a government whistleblower on the run.
Daniel has seen things and is desperately trying to expose what he knows while evading Wardex, a secretive government agency determined to silence him. He finds an ally in Hugo, a former colleague (Colman Domingo), who proves to be a calming voice through the escalating intensity and madness that Daniel sees swirling around him. Escalating matters is that Wardex, led by the menacing Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), has abducted Daniel’s girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson) and seeks to use her as leverage.
If this all feels a bit melodramatic, Spielberg seems caught up in trying to wring out every detail present in Koepp’s writing. While any director can succumb to on-the-nose and heavy-handed writing, Spielberg has typically trusted his audience more than he does here. His best work has let audiences live with a hint of uncertainty at times. Perhaps, in his focus to make everything precise and perfect, he delivers a film that behaves as though every mystery deserves a resolution.
John Williams, scoring his 30th film with Spielberg, feels almost youthful again, his composing and arrangements pushing Disclosure Day forward with an urgency the screenplay seems to resist embracing at times. Because Spielberg is a master craftsman, he eventually aligns all the elements together in major moments; he crafts a breathtaking action sequence involving Daniel and Margaret and a train track, and ultimately delivers an emotional and powerful final act with one tremendous final scene.
Disclosure Day will instantly draw comparisons to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, more than E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial or A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. I wanted more curiosity, the kind Spielberg tapped into earlier in his career. Instead, he seems absolute in believing that a “disclosure day” is on the horizon. When the government recently declassified documents, videos, and images a few months back on the possible existence of extraterrestrial life, Spielberg seemingly had what his younger self would have wanted.
Thus, I suppose it is somewhat ironic that the current administration, who make public pronouncements on an almost daily basis, offered only anecdotal context around the information released to the public. In this instance, it is Spielberg and Koepp who are oversharing and hammering home their points. That juxtaposition is fascinating: our government is content to let people speculate, while Spielberg offers a stance and opinion that feels devout in his certainty.
Perhaps he is simply too close to all of this. Disclosure Day has great performances and a sense of intrigue and mystery about it. The score and sound design are immersive and it is hard not to be interested in where the movie is trying to take us. With Spielberg, however, we want that sense of magic and wonder. We want to think about what it might mean if alien life really did connect with human beings. Why are they here? What do they want from us? What do they know and what have they discovered?
Spielberg has said that Disclosure Day will challenge audiences’ faith. He may be right. Imagine if what he presents here is one day proven to be true. The existence of extraterrestrial life would fundamentally change how we look at everything. A younger Spielberg might have left some of those questions unresolved, propping open a door of curiosity for viewers to walk through. Here, he appears to close the door, convinced that he knows the truth.
CAST & CREW
Starring: Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, Eve Hewson, Wyatt Russell, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Elizabeth Marvel, Hettienne Park, Delaney Cuthbert, Tyler Maxwell Renaud
Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenplay: David Koepp
Story: Steven Spielberg
Release Date: June 12, 2026
Universal Pictures