Josh O'Connor: Disclosure Day is "Like Old-School Spielberg"

In an interview earlier this year, Josh O'Connor gave fans their clearest indication yet of what to expect from Disclosure Day: a return to the Spielberg that made audiences believe in the impossible.

O'Connor, best known for his Emmy-winning turn as Prince Charles in The Crown, plays the film's whistleblower — a man determined to reveal the truth of alien life to the world.

"People Have a Right to Know"

In the film's teaser trailer, O'Connor's character delivers what may become the movie's defining line:

"People have a right to know the truth. It belongs to 7 billion people."

The line feels ripped from real-world UAP hearings, where whistleblowers like David Grusch have testified before Congress about alleged government programs involving non-human intelligence. Whether intentional or not, Disclosure Day arrives at a moment when questions about government secrecy around UFOs have never been more mainstream.

No Audition Necessary

Like Emily Blunt, O'Connor was offered his role without having to audition. Spielberg knew exactly who he wanted for the whistleblower character — someone who could bring gravitas and moral conviction to a man fighting against systems of secrecy.

O'Connor's recent work includes Challengers (2024), Luca Guadagnino's tennis drama that showcased his range and intensity. That same intensity appears to be channeled into Disclosure Day's truth-seeker.

The "Old-School Spielberg" Promise

O'Connor's comparison to Close Encounters and E.T. is significant. Both films prioritized wonder, emotion, and human connection over spectacle and destruction. They asked audiences to feel something, not just watch something.

This stands in contrast to Spielberg's other alien film, War of the Worlds (2005), which was explicitly about invasion and survival. Disclosure Day appears to be returning to the contemplative, awe-inspired territory of his 1970s and 80s work.

If O'Connor is right, we may be witnessing Spielberg's definitive statement on the UFO phenomenon — 50 years after Close Encounters first asked what it would mean to make contact.

A Story Spielberg Had to Tell

Unlike many Spielberg projects, Disclosure Day originated entirely from the director's imagination. He wrote a 40-50 page story treatment before bringing in David Koepp (Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds) to develop the screenplay.

The film represents Spielberg's most personal UFO story since Close Encounters — a film he made at 30 years old, driven by childhood memories of watching meteor showers with his father. Now, nearly 80, he returns to the subject with a lifetime of perspective.

Disclosure Day opens in theaters and IMAX on June 12, 2026.

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