Steven Spielberg and David Koepp’s collaborations have delivered multiple iconic blockbusters moviegoers won’t forget in a hurry. The duo is expected to put forth another hit when Disclosure Day premieres this summer. The alien invasion movie, billed as a Universal Pictures event film, has been scheduled for release on June 12, 2026. It stars Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor alongside Eve Hewson, Colin Firth, and Colman Domingo.
Spielberg conceived the story from contemporary public discourse on aliens, and roped in Koepp to write the screenplay. The esteemed screenwriter told Vanity Fair it took him 42 tries to get the script right. According to him, the acclaimed auteur was more exacting than usual because he’s resolved to create a project worthy of his name. “He knows he’s worked in this area (UFO genre) before; he wants this one to be the best,” the screenwriter divulged. Time will tell whether the movie lives up to its hype, but here’s a ranking of all Steven Spielberg and David Koepp films.
01. Jurassic Park (1993)
Steven Spielberg and David Koepp’s first collaboration remains their best work together. Alongside Michael Crichton, Koepp wrote the screenplay for the acclaimed adaptation of Crichton’s eponymous novel, published in 1990. With Spielberg as the director, Jurassic Park starred Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum in a groundbreaking tale about cloned dinosaurs. Released to rave reviews from critics and viewers, the sci-fi adventure became a cultural phenomenon that redefined filmmaking.
The movie’s innovative visual effects pioneered the use of CGI, ushering in a new dawn with limitless storytelling opportunities for filmmakers. Jurassic Park’s success elevated Koepp’s career, aiding the rise of a franchise ranked among the highest-grossing of all time. The film grossed over $914 million worldwide during its original run and surpassed $1 billion after its re-release in 2013. Needless to say, the movie received multiple nominations for coveted awards. It won three Oscars for its sound and visual effects achievements.
02. War of the Worlds (2005)
Following the resounding success of their Jurassic Park films, Steven Spielberg and David Koepp embarked on another ambitious adaptation. Partnering with Josh Friedman, Koepp co-wrote the script for Spielberg’s big-screen interpretation of H. G. Wells’ 1898 sci-fi novel The War of the Worlds. Their retelling of The Martians’ quest to conquer Earth starred Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto and Justin Chatwin as the Ferriers. The film focused on the family’s life-or-death struggle for survival amid an extraterrestrial invasion, personalizing the story for a thrilling and immersive cinematic experience.
Although criticized for being too sentimental, War of the Worlds mostly received positive reviews. The movie won multiple coveted awards, including three Academy Award nominations for its sound mixing, editing, and visual effects achievements. The sci-fi action epic was also a commercial success. It grossed over $603 million against its $132 million production budget. This earned it the fourth spot among the highest-grossing films of 2005.
03. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Steven Spielberg and David Koepp’s fourth collaboration for the fourth Indiana Jones film offered another memorable pulp adventure to expand the famous franchise. Koepp’s script pits Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones against Soviet KGB agents in a race to uncover the secrets of the Crystal Skulls, a mysterious artifact in Peru. Also starring Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen and Shia LaBeouf, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released to mixed reviews from fans and critics. While fans anticipated a solid fourth entry after waiting for 19 years, critics didn’t fancy several elements of the movie, like the inclusion of aliens.
By and large, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull still had a decent outing. Although it won the Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel, it was nominated for multiple coveted awards, including the BAFTA for Best Special Visual Effects. The movie was also a commercial success. Without accounting for inflation, it’s the highest-grossing film in the franchise. Against its $185 million production budget, it grossed over $786 million, finishing behind Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight as the second-highest-grossing film of 2008.
04. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
Following Jurassic Park’s massive critical and financial success, Steven Spielberg and David Koepp embarked on an ambitious sequel starring Jeff Goldman, Julianne Moore, and Pete Postlethwaite alongside Arliss Howard, Richard Attenborough, and Vince Vaughn. The sequel tells an exciting story about two teams with conflicting agendas revolving around dinosaurs, but it only managed average reviews from fans and critics. The characters were criticized for lacking depth, just as the plot was deemed too derivative of the original film. This earned Koepp a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Screenplay.
Spielberg has acknowledged the film’s inadequacies several times. For instance, he told The New York Times in a 2016 interview that the sequel wasn’t as good as the original because he was too confident. “I come in like it’s going to be a slam dunk and I wind up making an inferior movie to the one before,” he told the publication. Regardless, The Lost World: Jurassic Park received multiple nominations for coveted awards, including an Oscar for Best Visual Effects. The movie was also a commercial hit that grossed over $618 million against a production budget of $75 million. If not for James Cameron’s Titanic, it would have been the highest-grossing film of 1997. Check out Caleb Ellsworth-Clark, the new Dewey in Malcom in the Middle’s revival.
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