Steven Spielberg is working on a currently unтιтled UFO movie, and the upcoming sci-fi film may be the perfect replacement for this canceled Spielberg sequel. Spielberg is the mastermind filmmaker behind all kinds of iconic franchises like Jaws, Indiana Jones, Jurᴀssic Park, and more, and while some of his most famous movies are alien films, he hasn’t explored the genre in decades.

Aliens have been a staple of Spielberg’s filmography since 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which was the first of several Spielberg films to explore extra-terrestrials. Famously, 1982’s E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial tackled a similar topic, while later films such as 2005’s War of the Worlds and 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull focused on more antagonistic alien creatures.

Aliens haven’t been explored in a Spielberg film since the aforementioned Indiana Jones sequel, with many fans of the director missing his unique take on creatures from outer space. Luckily, Spielberg will be returning to the genre with his next film, with the unтιтled UFO film set to release on June 12, 2026.

Spielberg’s Scrapped Close Encounters Sequel Explained

And What It Turned Into

After the success of 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Spielberg expressed interest in a sequel, which he began developing. However, the complicated story of a government cover-up disinterested him, with it evolving into a separate project тιтled Night Skies. Night Skies would have been a darker film about a group of aliens who terrorize a human family, based on the Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter story.

One of the subplots in Night Skies was set to follow the only friendly alien of the group as it befriends a young child in the human family. Spielberg was a fan of this story and expanded on it, eventually getting rid of the malevolent aliens entirely. Thus, the Close Encounters of the Third Kind sequel that evolved into Night Skies eventually evolved again into E.T. The Extra-Terrrestrial.

How Spielberg’s 2026 Movie Could Finally Serve As A Follow-Up

It Sounds Similar To The Close Encounters Sequel

Although it hasn’t been confirmed as a sequel, Spielberg’s 2026 UFO film could easily be a spiritual successor to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Footage descriptions of Spielberg’s UFO film explain that the movie has a thriller vibe, with it featuring underground facilities, black vehicles, a car chase, and a game of cat-and-mouse.

This clearly makes Spielberg’s UFO film seem like it is tackling a government conspiracy story, which is what Spielberg originally had in mind for the Close Encounters of the Third Kind sequel. So, after all these years and the evolution of the sequel, Steven Spielberg may finally be returning to this alien story.