Emily Blunt to Star in Steven Spielberg's UFO Film

Universal Pictures recently announced that Steven Spielberg’s next film will open in theaters on May 15, 2026. This one is being position as a popcorn movie, which is the type of project Spielberg hasn’t done since 2018’s “Ready Player One.”

It’s unclear what the untitled project is about — the studio describes it as a “new original event film” — though it was already reported to be a “UFO” film.

Things are heating up now with a major actress circling a lead role in this one. Deadline is reporting that Emily Blunt is destined to star in Spielberg’s next film. The project is being described as a two-hander, so Blunt would be playing one of the two leads.

Blunt is capable of hitting her roles out of the ballpark. She’s coming off her Oscar-nominated turn in “Oppenheimer,” which wouldn’t even make my top 5 of her best work to date. Her notable performances include “My Summer of Love,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Sicario,” “A Quiet Place,” and “Edge of Tomorrow.”

Spielberg, 77, is set to direct the film, based on his own original idea. David Koepp is writing the screenplay. The good news is that Tony Kushner isn’t writing the script. Nothing against Kushner, but I believe it’s smart for Spielberg to branch out with another screenwriter on this one — he will hopefully put his talents as an action filmmaker to good use here.

With a filmography that spans six decades and more than 40 films, Spielberg’s landmark career has been that rarest of beasts, mixing commercial success with resounding artistic merits. His most notable works include “Jaws,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Schindler’s List,” “E.T.” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

Spielberg’s last film was 2022’s “The Fabelmans,” the most personal statement of his career, and which garnered overwhelmingly positive reviews and a Toronto audience award to boot. This came after another critically-acclaimed film, 2021’s “West Side Story,” which itself was a seven-time Oscar nominee.