Steven Spielberg is considered one of the most important filmmakers of our time, and his impressive list of beloved movies proves it – including classics like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jaws, Jurassic Park, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Schindler’s List. This week marks his return to directing after a break, and it’s been eight years since his last science fiction film. His new movie, Disclosure Day, is a sci-fi thriller revisiting a familiar theme for Spielberg: the search for answers about UFOs and aliens. He’s explored this topic so thoroughly that it’s even inspired a popular fan theory.
When Steven Spielberg announced his new UFO movie, fans immediately wondered if it might be connected to one of his previous films. After the first trailers showed glimpses of the UFOs and aliens, a popular theory emerged: many believed the new film, Disclosure Day, was secretly a sequel to his 1977 hit, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Now that the movie is released, we know the answer is no. Be warned: spoilers ahead!
Close Encounters & Disclosure Day Fan Theory Debunked
Although both Disclosure Day and Close Encounters of the Third Kind deal with aliens and the quest for answers, they aren’t connected beyond being science fiction films directed by Steven Spielberg. It’s understandable why people might think there’s a link, considering the similar themes, but they are actually two separate and unrelated movies.
Despite having no direct link, Disclosure Day and Close Encounters of the Third Kind are surprisingly different films. They tell completely separate stories and, rather than being alike, seem to respond to each other by focusing on different emotional themes. Each film explores feelings the other doesn’t prioritize.
Although both films deal with events that affect the whole world, they end on very different notes. Close Encounters of the Third Kind leaves you feeling hopeful about contact with aliens, while Disclosure Day offers a disturbing look at what happens when we lose our compassion. Even though they don’t officially take place in the same universe, these two movies work really well when watched back-to-back.
For just one second, let’s consider the idea that the theory WAS real, and Disclosure Day was a secret sequel to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. As precious as Steven Spielberg’s movies are to the film-going public, only a few are so sacrosanct that they’ll never get a sequel or reboot (like E.T.). That is to say, if a sequel to one of Steven Spielberg’s movies was being made decades later, you could bet the house on the fact that this would absolutely be the foundation of the marketing plan to promote the movie. Beyond the fact that this didn’t happen, Close Encounters of the Third Kind was made by Columbia Pictures, while Disclosure Day is a Universal Pictures release, meaning sequel rights would sit with Sony.
After Close Encounters came out, Spielberg briefly thought about making a sequel. He even gave it a couple of working titles – Watch the Skies and Night Skies – because he didn’t want another studio to make a follow-up without his involvement, something that had happened with Jaws. Although he ultimately cancelled the project, ideas from it ended up inspiring other films he made, including Poltergeist, Gremlins, and, most notably, E.T.
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2026-06-11 22:43