John Williams, 93, to score Spielberg’s UFO epic as the duo reunite for their 30th film

29 October 2025, 13:29

John Williams and Spielberg reunite for new UFO epic. Picture: Alamy

By Hazel Davis

The film will mark the director-composer duo’s 30th collaboration in a long partnership which began with 1974’s ‘The Sugarland Express’ and continued with blockbusters like ‘Jaws’.

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John Williams will compose the score for Steven Spielberg’s upcoming movie, marking the 93-year-old composer’s 30th collaboration with the celebrated director.

The news was confirmed by Juilliard School president Damian Woetzel during an event in New York and reported by Variety. There are scant details available about the upcoming production, which doesn’t seem to have a – publicly available – title yet, but it’s rumoured to be a UFO-themed adventure and is slated for release in 2026.

Universal Pictures has described the film simply as “a new original event film”, starring Josh O’Connor, Emily Blunt, Colman Domingo, Colin Firth and Eve Hewson. Frequent Spielberg collaborator David Koepp is writing the screenplay.

Williams and Spielberg’s partnership began back in 1974 with The Sugarland Express and the pair have since produced some of cinema’s most memorable soundtracks, including Jaws, ET, Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List.

'Shark Theme' from Jaws - John Williams

John Williams is the second most nominated person in Academy Awards history, after Walt Disney, and the most nominated living composer with 54 nods. He has won four Oscars for best original score for Jaws, Star Wars, ET and Schindler’s List and one for best score adaptation/original song score for Fiddler On The Roof.

Williams has previously hinted at retirement after finishing Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in 2022. However, he later suggested he had reconsidered, telling The Times that he preferred not to make “grand pronouncements… surrounded by closed doors”.

What else might we have to look forward to from Williams?

Well, he’d love to score a Bond film, as he told Classic FM in an exclusive interview for his 90th birthday.

The movie maestro also recently premiered his first-ever piano concerto. Though best known for his iconic film scores, Williams also has a catalogue of classical works, but said he always found the idea of writing a piano concerto too daunting. That changed in 2022 when he turned 90, and announced he would take on the challenge.

Made up of three movements and lasting approximately 30 minutes, Williams’ Piano Concerto plays homage to the styles of by jazz greats Art Tatum, Bill Evans, and Oscar Peterson, and borrows a phrase from Phineas Newborn Jr. It was performed by pianist Emanuel Ax and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, at Tanglewood.

And despite recent health challenges, the maestro himself was there to witness the premiere...