‘We Are Not Alone on Earth,’ Warns Steven Spielberg

I always suspected Steven Spielberg thought there was life out there, but I was really surprised by what he shared recently! Knowing he directed movies like E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and War of the Worlds, it’s clear he’s always been interested. But at the 2026 SXSW festival, he went further – he actually revealed he fully believes in alien conspiracies. It was amazing to hear him talk so passionately about it!

At a recent festival in Austin, the director discussed his upcoming movie, Disclosure Day, which will be his fourth film about aliens and his first in over two decades. He said the idea for the movie started in 2019 after reading a New York Times article about Navy pilots spotting unidentified flying objects. He was also fascinated by the 2022 and 2023 congressional hearings where military officials testified, under oath, that they believed in UFOs (now often called UAPs) and that the government was keeping information secret. This led him to his current conclusion…

Honestly, I’m just as in the dark as anyone else, but I have this really strong feeling we aren’t the only ones here – that something else is out there. That’s what drove me to make this film, and I’m excited to share it with everyone.

Following a discussion at SXSW, a preview of the film Disclosure Day was shown. The film stars Josh O’Connor as a cybersecurity expert who appears to be the only one able to decipher unusual messages from outer space. The preview featured a striking image of a wheat field being flattened into a crop circle. Emily Blunt plays a local meteorologist who suddenly loses her ability to speak, causing concern among a group of nuns. Colman Domingo provides a grounding presence, while Colin Firth appears as a mysterious, unseen interrogator. The preview also included a puzzling elk, a car crashing through a house, and a thrilling sequence involving a train, a car, and Blunt narrowly escaping danger as she and O’Connor’s characters connect. Overall, it looks fantastic.

Sean Fennessey from The Big Picture podcast interviewed Spielberg, and while Spielberg didn’t share many details about Disclosure Day, he did discuss his fascination with aliens and how they’ve influenced his filmmaking.

Making a UFO movie was all he wanted to do when he set out to become a filmmaker.

You know, Close Encounters was actually the first story I tried to get made when I moved to Hollywood. But nobody was interested! I kept explaining I wanted to do a film about UFOs, and everyone just didn’t get it. They thought I wanted to make some kind of sensational, tabloid movie – like something ripped from the pages of the National Enquirer. They’d ask, ‘You want to make a movie about fake stories and crazy fantasies? Seriously?’ It was tough trying to convince them it was something more than that.

After the huge success of Jaws, Spielberg suddenly had the freedom to make any movie he chose. He explained that Close Encounters was the project he’d been waiting to pursue. He didn’t have a long list of ideas prepared; Close Encounters was simply his biggest dream.

He sensed a government cover-up 50 years ago.

Dr. J. Allen Hynek, a consultant on the film Close Encounters, previously led Project Blue Book, an Air Force study of UFOs. He started the investigation because he couldn’t explain certain events he’d witnessed, and later resigned from the Air Force, convinced the government was concealing the truth about UFOs.

Spielberg added, “I’m really into this. Why haven’t I seen any?”

He believes that confirming the existence of aliens would challenge some people’s religious beliefs, but he doesn’t think it would destroy those beliefs entirely. It would be disruptive, but not fatally so.

But his next movie will not be about aliens.

You know, Spielberg’s finally doing a western! It’s something he’s talked about wanting to do for ages, but never quite got around to. He was at SXSW recently and, while keeping things pretty tight-lipped, he did say he’s got something in the works that’s ‘really good.’ The best part? He wants to do it right. He specifically mentioned it’ll have horses, but he’s determined to avoid all the usual western clichés and stereotypes. He even said, ‘Okay?’ like he was making a promise, and I, for one, am incredibly excited!

He took a break from talking about conspiracy theories to make a small dig at Timothée Chalamet.

Spielberg went on a tangent to discuss how important it is for audiences to commune in dark theaters and have shared experiences. “It happens in movies, it happens at concerts, and,” he said, leaning forward with a smile and raising his volume, “it happens in ballet and opera!” (The crowd roared with laughter.)

Obviously, Spielberg is an executive producer on Hamnet, so he’s rooting for that communal experience at this year’s Oscars. But the director also praised Sinners, One Battle After Another, and Train Dreams. The latter he spoke of while lamenting that movies have gotten too fast. “It is a meditation on an entire life, covering nearly 75 years, but done under two hours, and it just made me so happy to have that thrown into the world this year.”

For the record, he’s not afraid of AI. (Just possibly aliens.)

He explained that he hasn’t used artificial intelligence in any of his films so far. He noted that his writers’ rooms are always full of people, not laptops. While he doesn’t want to criticize AI entirely – he believes it has potential in many fields – he strongly opposes using it to replace human creativity. (The audience applauded.)

If aliens touched down, he would show them movies.

The most obvious example is E.T., but It’s a Wonderful Life also fits well. It demonstrates how even good people can struggle, support each other, and ultimately find their way back to a positive path.

Speaking of E.T., it made him want to have kids.

Spielberg has spoken about how making E.T. impacted his personal life. He admitted he didn’t have much of one while filming, but the experience actually made him want to have children. He grew so close to his young cast, especially Drew Barrymore, that he essentially adopted her and helped raise her – they were still texting recently! He even shot the movie in sequential order, feeling it would be unfair to ask child actors to film the ending before the beginning. He says the final goodbye scene with E.T. felt genuinely heartbreaking for everyone involved.

I’ll never forget the feeling I had when everything settled down – it hit me that being a parent would be the most amazing thing ever. And it really has been! My wife, Kate Capshaw, and I have seven children and six grandchildren now, and honestly, they keep me feeling young and connected to what matters.

2026-03-14 01:55