For a filmmaker who has spent half a century teaching audiences to look hopefully towards the stars, Steven Spielberg has become surprisingly evasive about aliens lately.
Which is exactly why fans are now convinced his upcoming UFO thriller Disclosure Day may secretly be a stealth sequel to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, one of the most beloved sci-fi films ever made.
The theory has been spreading rapidly across Reddit and film forums following new comments from cast members and cryptic hints buried in promotional interviews.
The more you look at it, the less ridiculous it starts to sound.
What is Disclosure Day about?
Disclosure Day is Spielberg’s latest science fiction epic, written by longtime collaborator David Koepp and starring Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, and Colman Domingo.
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The film follows a massive government conspiracy surrounding extraterrestrial contact, with the official synopsis teasing ‘the extraordinary event that will change human history forever: the day of ultimate alien disclosure.’ So far, it’s all looking very Spielberg.
But it is the tone, which is deeply interested in humanity’s emotional relationship with the unknown, that has instantly reminded viewers of Close Encounters.
In an interview with Empire, Emily Blunt suggested the connection may not be entirely accidental.
‘There are definitely questions posed by Close Encounters that are answered in Disclosure Day,’ she revealed.
That single sentence has essentially detonated the brains of Spielberg fans online, because while plenty of directors revisit similar themes throughout their careers, Spielberg almost never directly revisits his own mythology.
Which raises the obvious question: why specifically mention Close Encounters at all?
Why do fans think it could be a Close Encounters sequel?
On Reddit, fans have spent months piecing together theories connecting the two films.
One particularly detailed post in r/Spielberg questioned what actually happened after the ending of Close Encounters, where civilians witness the iconic alien arrival at Devil’s Tower before abducted people, including World War II pilots, are returned to Earth.
‘Where are those photos today?’ the user wrote, referencing scenes in which Barry’s mother documents the event.
‘It’s unclear whether the world at large was “disclosed to” or only the people on the tarmac that night.’
Another fan suggested Disclosure Day could explore decades of government cover-ups following the original film’s events, particularly if authorities attempted to suppress knowledge of extraterrestrial contact.
Others have gone even deeper down the conspiracy rabbit hole, connecting Spielberg’s long-standing fascination with UFO folklore, government secrecy, and real-world alien mythology.
One commenter noted that Spielberg has previously incorporated theories like the Philadelphia Experiment into projects such as Taken, arguing Disclosure Day appears to blend classic Spielberg wonder with modern internet-era UFO paranoia.
Meanwhile, perhaps the most chaotic fan theory of all centres on rumours that Josh O’Connor could secretly be playing an adult Barry Guiler — the small child abducted in Close Encounters.
‘Wait, there’s a theory he’s playing adult Barry?? I am all in,’ one Reddit user wrote.
Spielberg loves emotionally circular storytelling, so a grown-up Barry haunted by fragmented memories of first contact feels exactly like the sort of melancholy sci-fi concept he would adore.
The Spielberg problem
The biggest argument against the theory is, ironically, Spielberg himself.
Historically, Spielberg has resisted directly revisiting many of his most iconic films. Unlike franchises obsessed with endless lore-building and nostalgia bait, Spielberg’s work often feels emotionally complete on its own.
Fans also point to the fact Spielberg has previously expressed regret about showing too much of the aliens in Close Encounters, believing mystery was part of the film’s magic.
One Reddit user put it bluntly: ‘Knowing how Steven works, he probably wouldn’t touch a prior work, regardless of how much fan service it would provide.’
And yet Disclosure Day increasingly feels haunted by Close Encounters anyway. Not necessarily through plot, but through thematic continuation.
David Koepp even described the movie as having similarities to paranoid 1970s conspiracy thrillers like Three Days of the Condor while still existing spiritually adjacent to Spielberg’s earlier alien stories.
‘Conspiracies are fantastic for movies because they’re an onion,’ Koepp said. ‘You peel away layers and find out more and more.’
That language alone feels like a modern evolution of Close Encounters, which was ultimately about ordinary people realising reality itself had been hidden from them.
Should it actually be a sequel?
This is where things get dangerous. Because legacy sequels are now Hollywood’s favourite hobby and, statistically speaking, most of them are terrible.
Close Encounters remains so powerful precisely because of its ambiguity, and turning it into a giant lore-heavy cinematic universe risks flattening one of Spielberg’s most spiritual films into franchise content.
At the same time, Disclosure Day arriving in 2026 feels oddly perfect.
Close Encounters reflected the hopeful, mystical UFO fascination of the 1970s. Disclosure Day appears positioned to explore the much darker conspiracy-obsessed internet age, where alien discourse is tangled up with government distrust, misinformation and collective paranoia.
In other words: the same questions, but for a completely different century.
Disclosure Day is released in cinemas on Friday, June 12.
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