Steven Spielberg has revealed that he believes aliens have not only visited Earth — but may still be here.
The legendary filmmaker made the comments while promoting his new sci-fi thriller Disclosure Day, which centres on a whistleblower attempting to expose a decades-long conspiracy to hide evidence of extraterrestrial life.
Speaking to CBS News, Spielberg was asked whether he believes aliens have visited Earth and whether they "might still be here".
His answer was unequivocal.
"Based on the circumstantial evidence of everything that I've gathered throughout my whole life, everybody I've listened to and every documentary I've ever watched and all the testimonies in Congress that I've heard, I absolutely think that they have been here, and they are here."
He then added: "And who knows, maybe they've always been here."
Steven Spielberg. Fred Duval, Shutterstock
The Oscar-winning director has spent much of his career exploring extraterrestrial life on screen, from Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial to War of the Worlds.
His latest project, Disclosure Day, imagines a world in which a vast archive of UFO evidence is leaked to the public.
Explaining the premise, Spielberg said: "'Disclosure Day' is about how, if somebody had the power and if somebody had possession of the entire archive of visual evidence of what's been happening for the last 80 years, what would happen if they decided to do a data dump across the entire world all at once?"
The film boasts a star-studded cast including Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo and Eve Hewson. The story follows a race to expose a government cover-up surrounding alien encounters.
Emily Blunt. Lev Radin, Shutterstock
Speaking to Empire, Emily Blunt teased: "Definitely answers some of the questions posed in Close Encounters."
Before filming started, Colman Domingo said: "I finished reading the script, and I bawled. I thought it was one of the most beautiful scripts about our humanity."
"I think it was just the most beautiful film about our humanity, and I literally cried because Steven Spielberg believes in the possibility of the human beings we could be."
While Spielberg admitted he has never personally experienced a paranormal event, he joked during the interview that he feels overdue for one.
"I deserve a sighting," he laughed. "I mean, I'm an ambassador to these guys, and they haven't shown themselves to me?"
Disclosure Day arrives in cinemas on June 12 and has already been described by Spielberg as a thematic "bookend" to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, nearly 50 years after that classic first brought his fascination with alien life to the big screen.
Disclosure Day is set for release on June 12, 2026.
