Both films share a key creative element: David Koepp as screenwriter. War of the Worlds was Spielberg's darkest, most intense alien film. Will Disclosure Day follow suit?
The David Koepp Connection
Koepp wrote Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds, and now Disclosure Day for Spielberg. His scripts tend toward intense thriller territory with relatable protagonists facing overwhelming odds.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Disclosure Day (2026) | War of the Worlds (2005) | |
|---|---|---|
| Director | Steven Spielberg | Steven Spielberg |
| Writer | David Koepp | David Koepp |
| Composer | John Williams | John Williams |
| DP | Janusz Kaminski | Janusz Kaminski |
| Lead | Emily Blunt | Tom Cruise |
| Alien intent | Unknown (communication?) | Hostile invasion |
| Scale | Global revelation | Global destruction |
| Tone | Thriller / mystery | Horror / survival |
| Post-9/11 themes | Distrust of government | Terrorism parallels |
The Darker Side of Spielberg
War of the Worlds was Spielberg at his most relentless — tripods incinerating crowds, a ferry overturned with passengers drowning, people disintegrated to ash. It was an alien film as disaster movie, survival horror.
Disclosure Day appears to occupy similar thriller territory but through a different lens: the horror of losing control of your own body, of secrets being revealed, of the world changing irreversibly.
Same Crew, Different Vision
The creative team is nearly identical — Spielberg, Koepp, Williams, Kaminski. But where War of the Worlds was about running from aliens, Disclosure Day seems to be about what happens when we can no longer run from the truth.