Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure, StudioCanal’s Heist, and John C. Reilly being silly.
Let’s go!
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The truth is not out there. It’s here.
Steven Spielberg’s upcoming Summer 2026 film is called Disclosure Day. As depicted in the film, that title stands for the day humanity learns extraterrestrials are real… and living among us.
In Spielberg’s six-decade career, he’s directed some classics in the aliens-are-real genre:
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
E.T. (1982)
War of the Worlds (2005)
But Disclosure Day feels more prescient, given the recent UFO congressional hearings, the UFO NY Times article, and the Ready Player One producer Dan Farah’s new doc, The Age of Disclosure (trailer).
Spielberg’s personal odyssey with aliens and cinema was ignited by his first screening of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).
Spielberg recounted:
“I came out the other end of that picture much higher than any of my friends who had taken mind-altering substances. I went in there clean as a whistle. And I came out of there altered myself.”
Spielberg’s first encounter with an alien form of cinema was when he saw 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). This utter fascination spurred Spielberg’s first two space narratives that tap into the same joy and wonder of encountering extraterrestrials that he must have felt during his inaugural 2001 screening.
But Disclosure Day is different.
It plays like a worldwide reckoning and a grand conspiracy cover-up meshed into one movie. The new teaser is thrilling and a bit disorienting, much like this topic itself.
For More:
Disclosure Day trailer. Look out for the cardinals.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) trailer. As breathtaking and brilliant as ever.
They do not come in peace. The War of the Worlds (2005) trailer has an operatic score that ratchets up the intensity to 11.
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
StudioCanal is producing Heist of Benin (Dir: Ava DuVernay, star: David Oyelowo).
StudioCanal is producing Elsinore (Cast: Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman).
Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein (dir: Final Destination: Bloodlines) direct sci-fi drama The Traveler for Paramount.
FX picks up Seven Sisters starring Elizabeth Olsen and Cristin Milioti.
Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners has exited Paramount’s bid for WBD.
MGM+ is developing a remake of The Magnificent Seven as an eight-episode series.
Amazon MGM Studios is adapting The Probability of Miracles as a limited series.
Paramount Pictures is adapting Grady Hendrix’s BadAsstronauts as a feature film.
Netflix is adapting The Wedding Date with Tracy Oliver writing.
NBC is developing crime drama Spotless from Noah Rose Keeling.
John C. Reilly has joined Apple’s thriller Sponsor, written by Jason Segel.
Amy Sedaris will star in The Wasp Woman, written and directed by Paul Dinello.
Zar Amir stars alongside Jonathan Pryce in investigative thriller Keep Her Quiet.
Jacobi Jupe (Hamnet in Hamnet) joins Universal/Blumhouse’s new Exorcist film.
Dogwoof acquired worldwide sales rights to Sundance doc Birds of War.
Dekanalog acquired U.S. rights to Hen.
Harry Potter casting director Susie Figgis has died at 77.
FilmNation Entertainment has named Stacey Snider Chief Creative Officer.
Nick Reiner has been charged with first-degree murder of his parents, Michele and Rob Reiner. The legendary filmmaker and his wife were killed in their home on Sunday in LA. If convicted, Nick faces life in prison or possibly the death penalty. Read our Rob Reiner obit here: https://theindustry.co/p/rob-reiner-rip.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
StudioCanal has announced two massive projects, for which they serve as financier, sales rep, and French distributor:
Heist of Benin
Dir: Ava DuVernay
Star/Prod: David Oyelowo
Prod Co: Endurance Media (Lionsgate’s The Killer’s Game)
Teaser info:
A thriller that intertwines art, love and restitution set in modern London.
So very little is given away, but this marks a director/actor re-team for DuVernay and Oyelowo, a decade after they made Selma (2014). That’s a powerful film, and there’s a tortured sense of conviction driving Oyelowo’s performance.
Elsinore
Cast: Andrew Scott, Olivia Colman
Prod Co: LD Entertainment (Kiss of the Spider Woman, Bone Lake, The Grey)
Synopsis:
Dying of AIDS, actor Ian Charleson refused to give up, learning and performing Hamlet at London’s National Theatre in his final weeks, delivering an unforgettable performance before passing away shortly after.
There couldn’t be better casting. Scott has played Hamlet on stage. Just watch his To Be or Not to Be monologue (clip). Enough said.
StudioCanal is also making a Josephine Baker biopic from Maïmouna Doucouré (Dir: Sundance-premiering Netflix’s Cuties).
From Bloodlines to The Traveler. Zach Lipovsky & Adam Stein, directors of Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025), have a new film in place: The Traveler for Paramount.
Here’s the loose synopsis:
An intimate family drama that exponentially develops into a vast science fiction odyssey. The novel explores the life of Scott Treder, a 47-year-old biology technician who begins experiencing involuntary jumps through time.
Sounds very similar to Slaughterhouse-Five (1972), which I detailed here: https://theindustry.co/p/a-brief-history-of-time-travel-films
Interestingly, the latest draft is written by Justin Rhodes (writer: Terminator: Dark Fate), the best post-James Cameron sequel (also detailed in the above essay).
The Scarlet Witch is related to Sofia Falcone? Makes sense. FX’s newest drama pilot, Seven Sisters, is obviously led by a strong female ensemble headlined by Elizabeth Olsen (Love and Death), Emmy winner Cristin Milioti (The Penguin), and Succession’s J. Smith Cameron.
With director Sean Durkin (The Iron Claw) attached, the series is centered on a large family who sees their lives change when one sister (Olsen) begins communicating with a voice no one else can hear.
Through his first look deal with FX, this will be producer Garrett Basch’s fifth series for the network following miniseries Devs (2020), Reservation Dogs (2021-23), What We Do in the Shadows (2019-24), and The Lowdown (2025). Seven Sisters wrapped filming this past summer.
Netflix and Paramount make modest gains this month for the overall share of TV Monthly viewing:
12.9% YouTube
8.3% Netflix
Up from 8% last month
2.3% Paramount+
Up from 2% last month
1.3% WBD
Interesting to see how Netflix’s acquisition of WBD would mean they’d have nearly 10% of the US TV viewing market. Although still much smaller than YT.
Netflix’s most popular movie right now is Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man, which got 20.2M views in three days.
Tidbits:
One of Paramount’s backers in their bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery has backed out. Affinity Partners (Jared Kushner’s investment firm) has pulled its $200M investment. Warner Bros. will likely reject Paramount's bid, previously citing reasons like the dubious participation of three sovereign wealth funds from the Gulf. Kushner is Trump’s son-in-law, so his exiting the deal may make it easier for Paramount. Read Paramount’s full proposal here: https://theindustry.co/p/paramount-strikes-back
MGM+ is moving forward with the remake of The Magnificent Seven series from Heroes creator Tim Kring. The eight-part series will take a look at each merciless, gun-slinging member of the Magnificent Seven as they struggle to protect an ultra-religious Quaker village. The iconic western has seen countless reiterations for both the big and small screen, with that original 1960 film (trailer) one of several titles acquired by Amazon after it took over MGM’s IP three years ago. Production is set to begin on the series in June.
Three Book Adaptations:
Amazon MGM Studios is adapting the inexplicable The Probability of Miracles into a limited series. Based on author Wendy Wunder’s quirky 2011 love story, the novel, before getting an eight-episode greenlight by Amazon, was originally in the works at HBO Max, centered on a terminally ill young girl who moves to a town unlike anywhere she has ever been before. Katie Lovejoy (wri: To All the Boys: Always and Forever) is attached as writer, producer, and showrunner.
Paramount Pictures is making a big-screen adaptation of BadAsstronauts, Grady Hendrix’s 2022 space odyssey. The novella follows a bored astrophysicist who decides to build a rocket to save his cousin, who’s stranded in space. Hendrix has a number of other adaptations in the works, like his short story The Blanks at Netflix with Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps (Stranger Things) and bestselling The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires at HBO, led by Danny McBride.
Netflix is also getting in on the adaptation action, bringing on-screenwriter Tracy Oliver (wri: Girls Trip) to adapt The Wedding Date by author Jasmine Guillory. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s production will produce the chance encounter love tale via their banner Archewell.
Mini Tidbits:
NBC is developing Spotless, a new one-hour drama from Noah Rose Keeling, the writer behind the hit Amazon teen drama series We Were Liars. The story is told by a mother-daughter duo who run a crime scene cleanup side hustle as they simultaneously navigate their own relationship.
E.W. Scripps (owner: 60 local stations) rejects $622M acquisition offer from Sinclair, the nation’s second-largest TV-station owner (185 local stations, ~11% of all FCC-licensed broadcast stations). Sinclair already owns nearly 10% of the company.
Renewal:
PBS Masterpiece’s Miss Austen (for S2)
Trailers:
HBO Max’s The Pitt (S2)
Release: Jan 8
Peacock’s The Traitors (S4)
Release: Jan 8
Disney+’s The Artful Dodger (S2)
Release: Feb 10
ABC’s The Rookie (S8)
Release: Jan 6
Apple TV+’s Window’s Bay (series)
Cast: Matthew Rhys
Release: April 29
First look:
Universal’s The Odyssey
Dir: Christopher Nolan
First look at Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland
First look at Robert Pattinson
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A24’s The Death of Robin Hood
Dir: Michael Sarnoski (Pig, A Quiet Place: Day One)
First look at a very rugged Hugh Jackman
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Release dates:
In The Blink of An Eye
Dir: Andrew Stanton (Dir/Wri: WALL·E) + (VP: Pixar)
Cast: Rashida Jones, Kate McKinnon
Hulu release: Feb 27
Universal/Blumhouse’s Soulm8te
Pulled from Jan 9 release date
Currently being shopped
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
John C. Reilly has joined the Apple original thriller film Sponsor, as none other than the titular Sponsor. The Chicago (2002) actor will play the sweet but no-nonsense Jerry, who becomes James’ (played by Jason Segel) only hope at sobriety.
Segel also wrote the script, furthering his relationship with the streamer, while this is Reilly’s first collaboration with Apple and his first film role in four years.
Synopsis:
After a DUI, Peter must choose jail or recovery. He meets Jerry, a sponsor at meetings he reluctantly attends. Jerry’s unusual approach transforms support into a troubling situation Peter struggles to leave.
From the unhinged bravado of Dale Doback in Step Brothers (2008) to the kind-to-a-fault police officer in Magnolia (1999, scene), Reilly excels at both broad comedy and emotional dramas, the type of actor that doesn’t just toggle between the two but finds his sweet spot between the two.
Little else is known about the plot of Sponsor but since Reilly has the ability to erupt at a moment’s notice (Anger Management cameo) while also able to project a real sincere calmness makes him a smart casting choice regardless of where the story goes.
Sponsor is set to shoot in California.
Comedy legends Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello (Comedy Central’s Strangers With Candy) are buzzing about The Wasp Woman. Dinello is writing and directing the film with Sedaris starring in the titular role in the reimagining of Roger Corman’s low-budget but iconic 1959 sci-fi horror film of the same name.
The Wasp Woman gets its title from its central character, a cosmetics founder who uses enzymes from queen wasps to attempt to reverse aging with naturally disastrous results.
I could very clearly see Sedaris’ off-kilter personality blending well with a woman blissfully unaware of the consequences of her decisions, hopefully leaning more funny than horrifying.
Tidbits:
Cannes-winning actress Zar Amir (Holy Spider) is headlining the new investigative thriller Keep Her Quiet alongside Oscar nominee Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes). A true story set in D.C., the Iranian-French actress will play a woman who finds herself in danger after looking into the recent disappearances that have rocked her family and her community. The German co-production just wrapped filming in Berlin.
Jacobi Jupe (e.g., Hamnet in Hamnet) is now joining Universal/Blumhouse’s new Exorcist film starring Scarlett Johansson. Read our full breakdown on the project here: https://theindustry.co/p/scarlett-johansson-under-the-skin. If you’ve seen Hamnet, you’ll know the film hinges on Jupe, and he delivers big time.
Buck Rogers of NBC’s Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979-81) actor Gil Gerard has passed away from cancer at 82. Before getting the nice leading NBC gig, Gerard had a number of roles prior in large projects like the Jack Lemmon led disaster film Airport ‘77 (1977) and wrote and starred in the action comedy Hooch (1977, scene).
FESTIVALS
Rotterdam Film Festival runs Jan 29th - Feb 8th. Here are some of the highlights.
Subscribe to The Industry below for full access to our breakdown of Rotterdam, featuring a film starring a future Academy Award nominee. And the film we believe is most likely to sell to A24, Neon, or Focus Features.
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