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The new trailer for Stephen Spielberg’s UFO thriller Disclosure Day is out and here’s what Alasdair Stuart spotted. None of which, it turns out, is swamp gas from a weather balloon that was trapped in a thermal pocket and reflected the light from Venus…

0.01 – ‘What did you steal?’ ‘Secrets’

THAT’S THE STUFF. That’s how you hook an audience!

0.05 – Wardex

The company appears to be called Wardex. A very quick look didn’t throw up any in-movie websites but for something like this I wouldn’t be surprised.

0.08 – Daniel M. Kellner

Name and context for Josh O’Connor’s character. He’s an analyst of some sort at Wardex, judging by his ID.

0.19 – Crop Circle

And a much better look at the crop circle which we now see forming around Daniel. Interestingly, we get much more a sense of the pattern too. A cursory look didn’t throw up any circle it’s based on, aside from elements of the stock image in this article, which also posits a fun real world explanation for them.

Why We See Crop Circles (And It Has Nothing to Do With Aliens)

But given Spielberg’s fondness for the sub-genre I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a specific reference.

0.42 – Movement

I never noticed this before but the weather front behind Blunt’s camera moves, drastically, as she begins speaking in tongues. That feels deliberate.

0.57 – ‘And I can.’

Daniel understanding the alien language is an interesting twist. I wonder if that’s one of the things powering his decision to release the data?

1.04 – ‘People are starved for the truth.’

Colman Domingo is so damn good, in everything I’ve ever seen him in. I wonder if the earpiece is significant. I’m guessing YouTuber of some sort?

1.15 – Look at the Wardex screen

Note the orbital tracks, what seems to be a crash or landing site and the newscaster apparently standing next to a fire in the background. Also note that a four person medical team is monitoring Firth’s character at all times. This process, whatever it is, it’s traumatic.

Also what is this tech? How is Jane (played by Eve Hewson) susceptible to it? Why does it cause Firth’s characters eyes to glow blue? How does he take Jane over?

1.25 – Glowing Item

There’s a glowing item in Firth’s character’s hand just before we see him take Jane over. And are those the nuns we see elsewhere on the screen? Has disclosure already begun at this point?

1.29 – Red birds on the mobile

The mobile we see at several points has red birds on it very similar to the one we see leading the young girl away.

1.35 – ‘This 79-year terror campaign has to end.’

July 7th, 1947, Roswell. Tape 5 ‘Occupant’. The most famous UFO incident in history, where the USAF first announced the retrieval of a downed UFO and its occupants and then walked it back. This is widely regarded in UFOlogy as The Case. It makes perfect sense for it to be key here.

1.51 – ‘If you do this there’s no undoing it.’

Interesting that Firth’s character and Daniel meet at least once. I’m very curious as to what the reasoning for keeping the aliens concealed is.

2.05 – AI Usage?

In June last year Spielberg said he was opposed to using AI creatively but there’s a lot of shots in this trailer that have a yellow tint that’s common in AI graphics. I’d love it if he hadn’t, and I’ve got no evidence for it, but it was the first thing that caught my eye.

2.09 – Blunt in the bedroom

We get a shot of Emily Blunt’s character with the mobile above her head. She’s in the bedroom. Is this a memory? Is she the kid?! Is that why the light’s odd?

2.22 – ‘Don’t you let go’

This is a really interesting sequence. The setting, with the slat boards, looks a lot like the place we see Colman Domingo earlier, and both Blunt and O’Connor are wearing the head electrodes Firth’s character is using. Note the similar rigs behind her and the other patients(?) in the background. Is this contact?

2.27 – Mothership

Amazing how a nice chunky sound effect can add weight to an already lovely shot of a very large UFO isn’t it?

Disclosure Day looks fascinating and I’m really excited to see it. It opens June 12th.