Steven Spielberg Sets the Record Straight on Aliens as Disclosure Day Looms
Steven Spielberg reignited the alien debate at the SXSW Film & TV Festival in Austin on Friday, March 13, 2026, asserting he strongly suspects we’re not alone as he gears up for Disclosure Day, his next feature on extraterrestrial life.
Steven Spielberg went to SXSW, talked aliens, and slipped in a few teases about his next UFO movie. Classic Spielberg move. The man who gave us close encounters, friendly extra-terrestrials, and government men with walkie-talkies says he still has questions — and this year he is putting them back on the big screen with Disclosure Day.
Spielberg on aliens: still very much curious
During a keynote conversation at the SXSW Film & TV Festival in Austin on Friday, March 13, 2026, Spielberg told the crowd he has a strong hunch about what is (maybe) sharing our neighborhood. He also made clear he has never had a personal encounter himself.
"I have a very strong suspicion that we are not alone here on Earth right now. I made a movie about that."
He pushed the thought further, wondering whether humanity has had company in the present, over the last 80 years, or even across the last few thousand years.
The Obama ripple effect
If the discourse around aliens has felt extra loud lately, there is a reason. After a recent comment from former President Barack Obama was read by many as a nod toward alien existence, he followed up on Instagram to clarify he was speaking in probabilities, not confirmation.
"Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there."
Spielberg’s read on that: Obama ultimately reframed it as a broader belief in life beyond Earth — a stance the director thinks most people should be comfortable with.
Why this subject keeps pulling him back
In a recent Disclosure Day featurette, Spielberg traced the throughline from his shark to his saucers: it all lives in that zone where certainty slips away and imagination lights up.
"I’ve always been fascinated with things that cannot be explained. And I’ve made a lot of movies about things that can’t be explained, from sharks to saucers."
He added that public curiosity about what’s in our skies — and what that might mean for our reality — has reached a breaking point of fascination, boiling down to a simple, stubborn question: are we alone or not?
Disclosure Day: the basics
- Opens in U.S. theaters on June 12, 2026
- Cast: Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo
- Original story by Steven Spielberg