Spielberg's Pure, Childlike Wonder
JUNE 2026, Berlin
Preview by Burcu Beaufort
Steven Spielberg makes a surprise entrance to a London pub on a quiz night, asking the name of the very first science fiction movie he ever made. This is not an easy question to answer, as the movie was shot in 1964 entirely on 8mm, and only a very small part of the film has survived, which is Firelight. He was only 17 back then, making his feature directorial debut with a budget of $500; half of it he earned through his side hustles, and the other half was “matched” by his father. Firelight (1964) centers on a team of researchers led by scientist Tony Karcher and UFO believer Howard Richards, who attempt to uncover the truth behind mysterious colored lights appearing over the fictional town of Freeport, Arizona.
Since then, Spielberg's fascination with the idea of not being alone in the universe has led to sensational movies including Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), followed by War of the Worlds (2005) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).
Decades later, Spielberg returns to the genre with Disclosure Day (2026), a gripping new take on extraterrestrials. Josh O’Connor delivers an intense, slightly theatrical performance as the super-talented cybersecurity analyst Dr. Daniel Kellner, who steals classified data from WARDEX*, a fictional intelligence agency collaborating with the government and army. Daniel aims to share the information with the whole world, as he believes that every human has the right to know the truth.
Emily Blunt is hilarious as Margaret Fairchild, a weather presenter at a local television station in Kansas City. Although Margaret is lively and funny on screen, privately she feels lost and unfulfilled in her job, a situation which changes soon enough when a small, red bird flies into her apartment on an early morning.
Film Stills from Disclosure Day directed by Steven Spielberg. © Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Daniel and Margaret are unaware that they share a childhood memory which they either do not want to or cannot recall. This memory is about to be uncovered through the mastermind Hugo Wakefield, played by Colman Domingo. Standing against them is the director of WARDEX, Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), who is trying to get back the data Daniel stole and prevent it from being shared with the public, while claiming to keep the world at peace by saving humanity from the “information.”
The names of the characters are by no means a coincidence, and it seems Spielberg refers to the Old Testament, as Daniel is known for his wisdom and the spirit of the divine within him. He was the only one who could interpret the mysterious, divinely written message that appeared on the wall during a feast hosted by the Babylonian King Belshazzar. Without spoiling too much, Dr. Daniel Kellner is equally adept at deciphering the strangest messages.
Margaret is not a biblical name, yet rooted in the Greek word for "pearl," it symbolizes beauty and rarity. Despite her ordinary day job, Margaret Fairchild is the only one with extraordinary intuition and the ability to read others’ minds, along with several other abilities, making her the pearl of the story.
Coleman Domingo and Colin Firth and in Disclosure Day directedby Steven Spielberg. © Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Then we have the duality between Hugo Wakefield (with "Hugo" meaning intellect), who orchestrates the plan to expose the corporate secrets, and Noah Scanlon (with "Noah" meaning peace), who attempts to suppress the data under the guise of preventing chaos and maintaining “peace on Earth”, a peace he tries to enforce through authoritarian information suppression.
Spielberg’s Disclosure Day (2026) is an exhilarating science fiction thriller written by David Koepp based on a story by Spielberg, in which the director's childlike enthusiasm and idealism are preserved. The majority of the movie was shot on 35 mm film by Janusz Kamiński, a longtime collaborator of the director since Schindler’s List (1993). With empathy being one of the key elements in Spielberg's storytelling, this time he almost proves that human beings can show empathy even towards aliens. The result is deeply affecting, especially in the final moments.
*WARDEX stands for „Waived Reporting, Development and Extraction“. The term "waived reporting" describes government-linked entities that are exempt from standard reporting requirements and therefore do not have to provide data, documentation, or other forms of accountability to oversight bodies. David Koepp encountered the phrase while researching transcripts of congressional hearings on UAPs (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena).