It has been more than a decade since Steven Spielberg returned to the world of sci-fi, following his directorial efforts on 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1982’s E.T., and 2005’s War of the Worlds, so anticipation for the upcoming Disclosure Day is only to be expected.
The intrigue certainly helps, as previous trailers have hardly, well, disclosed much…until now. Lifting the veil of mystery is its latest preview, which gives a first look at the aliens that loom over the narrative, featurette-style commentary from Spielberg himself, and a vague synopsis: “If you found out we weren’t alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you? This summer, the truth belongs to eight billion people. We are coming close to … Disclosure Day.”
In it, the filmmaker shares his thoughts on the possibility of contact between humans and extraterrestrial beings — something he believes in more firmly now than 50 years ago, when he was working on Close Encounters. “How will disclosure change us? I believe for the better. It will remind us of our capacity for empathy and that there is something bigger out there than just ourselves,” he says. “I used to say to myself, wouldn’t it be wonderful if all of this turned out to be true? I’m now thinking, wouldn’t it be wonderful for people to know all of this is true?”
Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) and Josh O’ Connor (Challengers) lead the cast as weather reporter Margaret, who unexpectedly broadcasts an alien message while speaking in a strange voice during a transmission, and Daniel, a man involved in the uncovering of what appears to be a sprawling UFO conspiracy, respectively. The pair is joined by Colin Firth (Kingsman), Eve Hewson (The Luminaries), and Colman Domingo (Euphoria), with longtime Spielberg collaborator David Koepp (Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds) returning to pen the script. John Williams, the famed composer behind Star Wars and Indiana Jones, is also on board.
Disclosure Day opens in theatres on 12 June.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
