Disclosure Day Writer Refused To Use This Specific Sci-Fi Term

Close By Jennifer Chu Published Jun 26, 2026, 11:51 PM EDT Jennifer is a TV and Movie News Editor at ScreenRant. She started her journey in entertainment media in 2022 when she first joined Valnet at CBR before coming to ScreenRant. Jennifer loves TV, especially science fiction.

She also loves late-night talk shows, due to her insomnia. Alien: Earth is definitely one of her favorite shows, and she jumps on any chance she gets to write about it. Even on her days off, she will claim an Alien Earth article if one is available.

Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon are two of her favorite late-night hosts, and Conan O'Brien before he left his show. Her Alien: Earth coverage for ScreenRant is by far the work that she is most proud of so far. She was initially a finance and political editor, but her passion for pop culture convinced her to transition into entertainment journalism.

During her off time, she loves to binge-watch cooking shows such as Kitchen Nightmares. Jennifer also loves spending time with her daughter and cherishes every moment of it. Sign in to your ScreenRant account This specific word was completely off limits in Stephen Spielberg's Disclosure Day.

Directed by Steven Spielberg, Disclosure Day is a science fiction thriller that follows a government whistleblower, Daniel Kellner (Josh O'Connor) and a meteorologist, Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt), who form a strange psychic connection. The pair must work together to expose evidence that extraterrestrial life exists while the world around them is falling apart. The film also stars Colin Firth (Noah Scanlon), Eve Hewson (Jane Blankenship), Colman Domingo (Hugo Wakefield), Wyatt Russell (Jackson), Henry Lloyd-Hughes (Casper Boyd), and Elizabeth Marvel (Sister Maura).

One of the most recognizable words in science fiction, "alien", was ironically absent from Disclosure Day, and that decision was entirely intentional. In a recent interview with Cinema Blend, the film's writer, David Koepp, explains that he chose to use synonyms while writing the script, so viewers would take his work more seriously. He stated that, in his opinion, the word has become overused in the science fiction genre, and he wanted people to take the movie seriously.

Koepp added that the decision to avoid using the word alien was made early in the writing process. Instead of relying on the traditional science fiction terminology, Disclosure Day refers to the terrifying extraterrestrial creatures as "non-human biologics" and "biological life forms" instead. According to the writer, there were also more politically charged reasons behind this creative decision.

He explained that "alien" has developed more than one meaning throughout the years, such as people insensitively using the term to describe immigrants. Koepp wanted to ensure viewers remained focused on the events unfolding in the film instead of bringing up real-world events that have nothing to do with the movie. Because it's easier to take it not as seriously…

‘Aliens’ also has a second meaning in terms of immigration. And we didn't want anyone to be able to dismiss anything or be distracted. So we use ‘extraterrestrial’, we use ‘biological life forms,' ‘non-human biologics.'

There's a number of other terms that we use instead. This approach also gave Disclosure Day a more grounded tone. Unlike many alien invasion movies, the film presents these creatures through the eyes of scientists and government officials.

Omitting it also allows the story to make the extraterrestrials more mysterious and give the creative team more freedom, as when viewers hear the word "alien", it usually comes with a pre-existing image. Disclosure Day is currently playing in theaters now. Close This specific word was completely off limits in Stephen Spielberg's Disclosure Day.

Directed by Steven Spielberg, Disclosure Day is a science fiction thriller that follows a government whistleblower, Daniel Kellner (Josh O'Connor) and a meteorologist, Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt), who form a strange psychic connection. The pair must work together to expose evidence that extraterrestrial life exists while the world around them is falling apart. The film also stars Colin Firth (Noah Scanlon), Eve Hewson (Jane Blankenship), Colman Domingo (Hugo Wakefield), Wyatt Russell (Jackson), Henry Lloyd-Hughes (Casper Boyd), and Elizabeth Marvel (Sister Maura).

One of the most recognizable words in science fiction, "alien", was ironically absent from Disclosure Day, and that decision was entirely intentional. In a recent interview with Cinema Blend, the film's writer, David Koepp, explains that he chose to use synonyms while writing the script, so viewers would take his work more seriously. He stated that, in his opinion, the word has become overused in the science fiction genre, and he wanted people to take the movie seriously.

Koepp added that the decision to avoid using the word alien was made early in the writing process. Instead of relying on the traditional science fic