The IMDb Discovery
Eagle-eyed fans scouring the Disclosure Day IMDb page have spotted a casting credit that could reshape our understanding of the entire film. Buried among the credited roles is a character listed as:
This almost certainly refers to the Roswell incident — when the U.S. military recovered wreckage from a crashed object near Roswell, New Mexico in July 1947. The specificity of the credit is striking: the year, the activity (excavating), and the location all point directly to Roswell.
If Spielberg is including 1947 flashback scenes, it means Disclosure Day is not just a story about first contact — it is a story about a decades-long cover-up finally being exposed.
The Real Roswell Incident
In early July 1947, ranch foreman Mac Brazel discovered unusual debris scattered across a pasture near Roswell, New Mexico. He reported his find to the local sheriff, who contacted Roswell Army Air Field.
Military Announces "Flying Disc" Recovery
The Roswell Army Air Field issued a press release stating they had recovered a "flying disc." The story made headlines around the world.
Retraction: "It Was a Weather Balloon"
Within 24 hours, the military retracted the announcement, claiming the debris was from a conventional weather balloon. The story was buried for decades.
Air Force Admits Cover-Up — Sort Of
The U.S. Air Force acknowledged the weather balloon story was a cover, but claimed the debris came from Project Mogul, a classified surveillance balloon program. Many remained unconvinced.
The Roswell incident became the foundational event of modern UFO lore — the moment when, many believe, the government began systematically hiding the truth about extraterrestrial contact. If Spielberg is incorporating Roswell into Disclosure Day, the film connects directly to real history.
Why This Changes Everything
If Disclosure Day includes 1947 scenes, the implications for the story are enormous:
The Alien Presence Isn't New
They have been here for nearly 80 years. The events of the film are not about first contact — they are about the moment the public finds out about contact that happened generations ago.
The Government Has Been Covering It Up Since Roswell
The "weather balloon" retraction in 1947 was just the beginning. The cover-up that Josh O'Connor's whistleblower wants to expose may stretch back nearly eight decades.
"Disclosure Day" Isn't About First Contact
It is about the public finally finding out what the government has known since 1947. The title itself takes on a deeper meaning — this is the day the secret dies.
The Close Encounters Connection Deepens
Spielberg's 1977 masterpiece Close Encounters of the Third Kind was set in the present day but referenced historical UFO sightings. The government in that film had been tracking alien activity for years before Roy Neary's encounter.
If Disclosure Day goes back to 1947, Spielberg is doing something he has never done before: telling the origin story of the cover-up itself. Close Encounters showed us a government that already knew. Disclosure Day may show us the moment they found out — soldiers excavating alien wreckage in the New Mexico desert, the decision to hide the truth, and the consequences of that decision unraveling 79 years later.
The Super Bowl trailer already revealed that the spaceship designs in Disclosure Day bear a striking resemblance to the Close Encounters mothership. Adding Roswell flashbacks would cement the thematic link between the two films even further.
Spielberg and Real UFO History
Steven Spielberg has always been fascinated by real UFO cases. For Close Encounters, he consulted J. Allen Hynek, the real-life astronomer who served as the U.S. Air Force's scientific consultant on Project Blue Book — the military's official UFO investigation program from 1952 to 1969. Hynek even has a cameo in the finished film.
Spielberg has spoken publicly about his belief that something real is happening:
With Disclosure Day, Spielberg appears to be channeling decades of personal interest in real UFO phenomena into a narrative that treats the subject with the gravity it deserves. Including the Roswell incident — the most famous UFO event in history — would be entirely consistent with his approach.
What This Means for the Plot
Based on the IMDb casting discovery and everything we know from the trailers, the emerging picture of Disclosure Day's structure is compelling:
Dual Timeline Structure
The film likely alternates between 1947 (the original cover-up at Roswell) and present day (the public disclosure triggered by Emily Blunt's on-air broadcast). Two eras. One secret.
The Whistleblower's Discovery
Josh O'Connor's character — the truth-seeker who declares "the truth belongs to 7 billion people" — may have uncovered the 1947 truth. His arc could involve tracing the cover-up back to its origin in the New Mexico desert.
The Broadcast as the Breaking Point
Emily Blunt's meteorologist is overcome by an alien force on live television. If that alien force has been present since 1947, it chose this moment — 79 years later — to reveal itself to the world. Why now?
The Bigger Picture
A single IMDb casting credit has opened up an entirely new dimension of Disclosure Day. If Spielberg is weaving the Roswell incident into his narrative, this is not just a sci-fi thriller — it is a film about the most consequential secret in human history, finally coming to light. The excavating soldiers who dug up alien wreckage in 1947 started a cover-up that lasted generations. Disclosure Day is the day it ends.