Is Steven Spielberg’s ‘Disclosure Day’ a Secret Sequel to ‘Close Encounters’?

This is, to be clear, just fun speculation—an intriguing “what if” based on a few comments and details rather than anything confirmed. Still, the idea becomes more interesting the closer you look at what’s actually being said.

In an AP interview with Josh O’Connor, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” is referenced as a foundational influence on Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day,” with the key point being that the new project is meant to revisit and expand on ideas introduced in that 1977 classic.

O’Connor confirms that “Disclosure Day” “answers some questions” raised by ‘Close Encounters,’ implying that Spielberg is returning to the same thematic territory—human encounters with extraterrestrial life—but with a more revealing or explanatory angle.

‘Close Encounters’ left certain mysteries unresolved, particularly around the nature of alien contact and what it means for humanity, and “Disclosure Day” is now being framed as a continuation, or response, to those unanswered questions.

Now, there have been online rumors—maybe more like unsourced speculation—that “Disclosure Day” is actually a sequel to ‘Close Encounters,’ and that’s been mostly fueled by specific visual and thematic callbacks in the trailers and images released, like UFO designs that closely resemble those from the 1977 film, suggesting a shared universe or .. maybe a continuity?

Combined with comments by star Emily Blunt that the new film “answers questions” raised in ‘Close Encounters,’ theories have inevitably arisen.

Fueling the speculation is Spielberg himself, who has been very explicit that the marketing for “Disclosure Day” is deliberately hiding a major portion of the film. While promoting it at CinemaCon, he said that no footage from the entire third act appears in any trailers or previews, because he wants audiences to experience the story’s final revelations without a single hint attached.

Now, do I expect Richard Dreyfuss to show up at the end of this film? Probably not. However, at the very least, we should start looking at “Disclosure Day” as a “spiritual sequel” to ‘Close Encounters,’ a film that is meant to be a double-bill with the Spielberg classic. Whether it’s more than that—well, we’ll find out in June, when “Disclosure Day” rolls into theaters.