Steven Spielberg Clarifies the Link Between Disclosure Day & His 49-Year-Old Masterpiece - MCE Notices | California State Portal

Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg returns to the sci-fi genre with his newest directed movie, Disclosure Day, which is hitting movie theaters this week. Heading into the release, the filmmaker himself has clarified whether the film has a canonical connection to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, as has been theorized.

Nearly five full decades ago, Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind was released in 1977. The sci-fi flick tells the story of ordinary people experiencing mysterious encounters with UFOs, ultimately leaving some questions unanswered by the end. As Disclosure Day also deals with UFOs and extraterrestrial invaders, there has been a lot of online speculation that the movie was developed as a subtle sequel to Close Encounters, but Spielberg now tells Entertainment Weekly that this isn’t the case.

Disclosure Day Is Its Own Story

“It is not a sequel in any way, shape, or form to Close Encounters,” Spielberg says.

The director went on to point out the key difference between the two films. While the alien invaders in Close Encounters are hidden by the government, those in Disclosure Day are not. Spielberg says how the plot of the new release addresses how big tech companies are the ones covering up incidents of alien encounters. In the movie, the company Wardex serves as the primary antagonist with their efforts to keep all evidence of extraterrestrials a secret.

“I really don’t believe that governments can keep secrets,” Spielberg comments. “But big tech companies can. And there are contracting companies that I believe hold all the knowledge and have the archives, not governments… Wardex is operating outside constitutional restraints, and they hold all this knowledge, and they are the ones that are trying to get it back from our whistleblower heroes.”

Disclosure Day Answers Certain Questions From Close Encounters

Image via Universal Pictures

Theories about Disclosure Day connecting to Close Encounters were fueled in part by comments made by star Emily Blunt in a recent interview. She told Empire that “there are definitely questions posed by Close Encounters that are answered in Disclosure Day,” but notably didn’t outright state that the sci-fi movies had a canonical link. Be that as it may, fans of Spielberg’s classic work may have a great time watching his newest film, as it is getting high praise with its early reviews.

In the end, Disclosure Day earns its place in the upper echelon of Spielberg’s sci-fi work — not because it reinvents his favorite themes, but because it proves he can still make them feel thrillingly alive,” CBR’s Caralynn Matassa said in a review.

Directed by Spielberg, Disclosure Day was written by David Koepp. It stars Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Wyatt Russell, Colman Domingo, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Elizabeth Marvel, Chavo Guerrero Jr., and Gabby Beans.

Disclosure Day premieres in movie theaters on June 12, 2026.