Steven Spielberg’s latest sci-fi epic, Disclosure Day, is already being hailed by early critics as a return to peak Spielberg.
Landing in cinemas on June 12, the film stars Emily Blunt as a meteorologist who joins forces with a whistleblower, played by Josh O’Connor, to uncover a decades-long government conspiracy that could fundamentally alter humanity’s understanding of its place in the universe.
The cast also includes Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, Eve Hewson and Wyatt Russell.
The newly released final trailer leans heavily into Spielberg’s fascination with extraterrestrial life, a theme that has threaded through much of his career since Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
In a piece-to-camera featured throughout the trailer, Spielberg said: “I am much more inclined now than I was when I made Close Encounters to really believe that we are not the only intelligent civilization in the universe.”
“This is a story about us, all of us, up against the most extraordinary event in human history,” he adds, as scenes flash between government chases, shadowy cover-ups and first-contact imagery.
At one point, Domingo’s character declares it is time for a “79-year cover-up of the truth to end”.
“When disclosure day actually happens, we are going to have to accept that we haven’t been alone since the beginning of time,” Spielberg continued.
“I used to say to myself, ‘Wouldn’t this 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?’”
Within hours of the trailer dropping, critics who had already seen the film flooded social media with glowing first reactions.
Gizmodo’s Germain Lussier called it “Spielberg’s best film in 20 years”, describing it as “a dense roller coaster ride blending chase film, love story, & mystery, all wrapped in sci-fi wonder.”
Collider editor-in-chief Steven Weintraub echoed the praise, writing: “In a shock to absolutely no one, Steven Spielberg has delivered another towering home run with #DisclosureDay.”
He urged audiences to avoid further trailers and singled out Blunt’s performance as “incredible”, suggesting it deserved awards-season attention despite the blockbuster scale of the film.
Elsewhere, IndieWire critic Jim Hemphill described the project as “top-tier Spielberg”, writing: “Right from the opening Spielberg lays down the gauntlet and reminds you that he does this stuff better than anybody in the history of film.”
The Wrap’s Drew Taylor similarly praised the film as “thrilling, funny, deeply emotional and impeccably acted”, adding that Blunt is “astounding”.
“Full of mystery and wonder, it proves that nobody does it quite like Spielberg,” he wrote. “Just great.”
Disclosure Day arrives in cinemas on June 12
