The most prolific director-composer partnership in cinema history is reuniting once again. Legendary composer John Williams is teaming up with Steven Spielberg for the iconic director’s currently untitled 2026 UFO film, marking their 30th collaboration across more than five decades.
The news was revealed by Damian Woetzel, president of the esteemed Juilliard School, during an event exploring Williams’ extraordinary body of work. According to music journalist Doug Adams, Woetzel told the audience that Williams is currently in Los Angeles “doing what he does: he is working with Steven Spielberg on the next movie.”
A Partnership for the Ages
The Williams-Spielberg collaboration began in 1974 with The Sugarland Express and has produced some of the most iconic film scores in cinema history: Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, and Minority Report, among many others.
Of Spielberg’s 34 theatrical features to date, Williams has scored an astonishing 29, with the 2026 UFO film becoming their 30th. The only Spielberg feature Williams didn’t score was 1985’s The Color Purple, though he did serve as music consultant on Spielberg’s 2021 West Side Story remake (which featured Leonard Bernstein’s original compositions).
The figure of 30 does not include Williams’ consultancy credit on West Side Story or his score for 2023’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which was directed by James Mangold rather than Spielberg—though Spielberg served as producer.
The Retirement That Wasn’t
Williams’ involvement in the 2026 film is particularly noteworthy given that he’d previously hinted at retirement. Back in 2022, the composer suggested that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny would be his final film score, marking a poignant end to both the Indiana Jones franchise and his extraordinary career.
But in 2024, the 93-year-old film music icon walked back that comment, leaving the door open for future projects. “If a film came along that I was greatly interested in, with a schedule that I could cope with, then I wouldn’t want to rule anything out,” Williams said. “Everything is possible.”
Apparently, Spielberg’s UFO film was exactly the project to draw Williams back to the scoring stage.
Mystery UFO Film Taking Shape
Details remain scarce on Spielberg’s mysterious UFO project, which was first discussed back in mid-2024. What we do know is that it’s being written by David Koepp, a regular Spielberg collaborator who penned Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The film is backed by Universal Pictures and currently scheduled for 2026.
Given Spielberg’s history with UFO subject matter—Close Encounters of the Third Kind remains one of cinema’s most thoughtful and visually stunning explorations of alien contact, while E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial became one of the highest-grossing films of all time—expectations are understandably high for his return to the genre.
The Koepp-Spielberg-Williams combination has proven remarkably successful in the past, with Jurassic Park and War of the Worlds both becoming massive commercial hits enhanced significantly by Williams’ memorable scores. The Jurassic Park theme alone has become one of the most recognizable pieces of film music ever written.
An Unmatched Legacy
John Williams is one of the most celebrated composers in Hollywood history. At 93, he’s been nominated for 54 Academy Awards—the most of any living person and second only to Walt Disney overall—winning five Oscars across his seven-decade career.
His filmography reads like a greatest hits of American cinema: Jaws, Star Wars, Superman, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Harry Potter, Home Alone, Catch Me If You Can, and countless others. His themes are instantly recognizable, his orchestrations unmistakable, his ability to enhance storytelling through music unparalleled.
While many composers have enjoyed long relationships with particular directors—Bernard Herrmann with Alfred Hitchcock, Ennio Morricone with Sergio Leone, Danny Elfman with Tim Burton—none have been as prolific or influential as Williams and Spielberg. Their partnership has defined what film music can achieve, demonstrating how the right score elevates good films to greatness and great films to immortality.
Full Circle: UFOs and the Williams-Spielberg Partnership
There’s something poetic about Williams and Spielberg reuniting for another UFO film more than four decades after Close Encounters of the Third Kind. That 1977 masterpiece showcased both men at the height of their creative powers, with Williams’ five-note musical phrase becoming as central to the film’s alien communication as any dialogue.
The score won Williams an Academy Award (his third, following Jaws and Fiddler on the Roof) and remains one of the most innovative film scores ever written, using music not just to support the narrative but as an essential plot device. The aliens and humans literally communicate through music—Williams’ music—making it impossible to imagine the film without his contribution.
If the 2026 UFO film achieves even a fraction of Close Encounters‘ impact, it will be a remarkable late-career achievement for both artists.
What This Means for Cinema
Williams’ decision to score Spielberg’s 2026 film is significant beyond just their personal collaboration. At an age when most people are long retired, Williams continues working at the highest level, proving that artistic genius doesn’t diminish with age—it deepens.
His presence also signals Spielberg’s seriousness about this project. When Spielberg wants Williams’ music, he’s making a statement about the film’s importance and his commitment to achieving something special. Williams doesn’t score every film offered to him; his participation indicates he believes in the material and the director’s vision.
For audiences, it means we’ll experience at least one more collaboration from the most successful director-composer partnership in cinema history—a partnership that has shaped how we experience movies for more than 50 years.
The Sessions Continue
As Williams works in Los Angeles on Spielberg’s score, film music enthusiasts around the world can only imagine what themes, melodies, and orchestral colors he’s crafting. Will it be ethereal and mysterious like Close Encounters? Warm and emotional like E.T.? Grand and adventurous like Indiana Jones?
Whatever direction Williams takes, one thing is certain: the music will be integral to the film’s success, enhancing Spielberg’s visual storytelling in ways that seem effortless but require decades of mastery to achieve.
The 93-year-old composer is doing what he does best: working with Steven Spielberg on the next movie. And for that, cinema lovers everywhere should be grateful.
Thirty collaborations. More than fifty years. Countless unforgettable moments. The Williams-Spielberg partnership continues, reminding us that some creative relationships are truly once-in-a-lifetime—even when they last multiple lifetimes’ worth of extraordinary work.
The 2026 UFO film arrives in theaters next year, bringing Williams and Spielberg’s partnership full circle to where it soared most magnificently: the stars.
