Forty years to the day after Steven Spielberg sent Indiana Jones on a mine cart chase, he’s chasing his next movie, and it sounds like a biggie. The legendary director just set May 15, 2026 for the release of his new movie, which is being described as a “new original event film.” David Koepp, who penned Jurassic Park and War of the Worlds for Spielberg, is writing the script based an idea by Spielberg himself.
We don’t specifically know what the film is about yet but Variety believes it has something to do with UFOs. That, plus Koepp writing, and especially the early summer release date that sees it open between heavyweights like Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (currently slated for May 1, 2026) and The Mandalorian and Grogu (currently slated for May 22, 2026), one has to assume it’s a big summer blockbuster-type movie.
Spielberg’s last few attempts at the kind of film he literally helped invent have largely been met with apathy. He released Ready Player One in 2018, but that was in March, and before that The BFG in July 2016. In 2008, he had a massive summer hit with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (also written by Koepp), but it certainly didn’t elicit the raves of his other Indy movies. For the last true Steven Spielberg summer blockbuster, you have to go back almost 20 years to 2005’s War of the Worlds–and even then, there’s an argument to be made it didn’t reach true Spielberg levels of adoration. So, it’s been a minute.
As much as we did adored Spielberg’s last two movies, West Side Story and The Fabelmans, it’s exciting that he’s getting back into the summer movie season. It’s freaking Steven Spielberg, maybe the greatest to ever do it, opening a movie between the two biggest franchises on the planet. It’s hard not to get excited about something like that.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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