Legendary composer John Williams, 93, will be composing the score for Steven Spielberg’s upcoming UFO film (per Variety). The announcement was made by Juilliard School president Damian Woetzel during Monday’s event John Williams—A Composer’s Life: A Night of Stories and Music. Journalist Doug Adams was first to report the news.
It’s the Pair’s 30th Collaboration
“John Williams…is in Los Angeles doing what he does,” Woetzel said, “working with Steven Spielberg on the next movie. And that is something to be happy about.”
Damian Woetzel (president of Juilliard)
“The catalyst is John Williams, who is in Los Angeles doing what he does: he is working with Steven Spielberg on the next movie. And that is something to be happy about.”— Doug Adams (@DougAdamsMusic) October 28, 2025
This film will mark Spielberg and Williams’ 30th collaboration. They’ve previously worked together on Spielberg’s directorial debut, The Sugarland Express (1974), as well as the classics Jaws (1975), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park (both 1993), and Saving Private Ryan (1998). Most recently, Williams scored The Post (2017) and The Fablemans (2022) for the director.
Film Is Still Shrouded in Secrecy
Not much is known about Spielberg’s upcoming UFO film. On IMDb, the project is enigmatically referred to as “Untitled Steven Spielberg Amblin Universal Event Film.” Emily Blunt (The Smashing Machine), Colman Domingo (The Running Man), and Josh O’Connor (Challengers) are set to star, with David Koepp (Black Bag) writing the screenplay. Koepp has previously scripted several films for Spielberg, including Jurassic Park and its immediate sequel, The Lost World (1997), War of the Worlds (2005), and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). According to preliminary reports, the new film is based on an original idea from Spielberg. It’s scheduled to hit cinemas in 2026.
Williams Walked Back Previous Retirement Remarks
After scoring 2023’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which saw James Mangold take directorial reins from Spielberg, Williams hinted to the Associated Press that he was mulling a retirement. “Harrison Ford, who’s quite a bit younger than I am, has announced [it] will be his last film. So, I thought: If Harrison can do it, then perhaps I can, also.” But later that year, Williams refuted his own statement to the Times U.K.“I don’t care much for grand pronunciamentos, statements that are firm and finished and surrounded by closed doors. If I made one without putting it in context, then I withdraw it.”
