Steven Spielberg UFO Film Release Date Moved Away From ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

Steven Spielberg‘s next film has been given a new summer release date, which puts it out of the path of Avengers: Doomsday and The Mandalorian & Grogu. Details about Spielberg’s next film are being kept under wraps, with the rumored titles including The Dish and Disclosure. It is described as a UFO-related blockbuster event film, written by Jurassic Park screenwriter David Keopp based on an original idea by Spielberg. The cast includes Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada), Josh O’Connor (Challengers), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Colin Firth (The Kings Speech), Eve Hewson (Flora & Son), and Wyatt Russell (Thunderbolts*).

Universal Pictures, via Variety, has confirmed that Spielberg’s next movie has been pushed back to Jun. 12, 2026, instead of the originally planned May 15, 2026, date. The film takes the spot reserved initially for Everything Everywhere All at Once directors The Daniels’s untitled follow-up picture, which has now been taken off the schedule. Spielberg’s next film will open on the same weekend as Scary Movie 6 and a week before Toy Story 5.

The initial May 15, 2026, release date that Universal Pictures had Spielberg’s film set for would have put it two weeks after Avengers: Doomsday and a week before the Star Wars entry, The Mandalorian & Grogu. Despite Spielberg being the most commercially successful filmmaker of all time with some of the most beloved movies in cinema history like Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, and Saving Private Ryan, he hasn’t been the box office draw he once was in a long time. Even though he has been on a creative hot streak with his latest films, West Side Story and The Fablemans, they were largely ignored by general audiences.

Universal is Betting Big on Critically Acclaimed Directors in 2026

While some might be disappointed at the prospect of a new movie from a director as influential as Steven Spielberg not being able to hold its own against the latest Marvel or Star Wars movie, the fact it is being released at all in 2026 makes it an exciting year for movies, particularly from Universal Pictures. Their 2026 slate includes Spielberg’s latest film, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, and Jordan Peele’s next movie. Three of the most critically acclaimed filmmakers are getting big passion projects bankrolled by one of the biggest studios, and audiences will be able to see them within months of each other.

Universal Pictures will hopefully put the same level of marketing behind Spielberg’s upcoming film the same way they did Oppenheimer and turn an original idea into an event film that can rival franchise entries. While Spielberg’s next movie might have moved out of the way of the MCU and Star Wars, June 2026 is filled with IP films like Masters of the Universe, Scary Movie 6, Toy Story 5, and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Even though two of Spielberg’s biggest movies for Universal, Jaws and Jurassic Park, were adaptations of popular books, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial was an original idea that became the highest-grossing movie ever for over a decade. Spielberg’s next movie may not turn out to be as financially successful, but it certainly would be great to see audiences turn out for the latest entry from one of the greatest living filmmakers ever to live.