No Retirement, No Western (Yet): Spielberg Shares Plans — and a Sci-Fi Surprise

At 77, Steven Spielberg isn’t slowing down — he’s just getting started on the parts he hasn’t done yet. On Thursday night, the 77-year-old director was honoured with the grand opening of the Steven Spielberg Theater on Universal’s Los Angeles lot, where industry giants and famous faces gathered not just to celebrate his legacy, but to witness him charting his next chapter. As he told the crowd with a grin: "I have no plans… ever… to retire." A statement equal parts defiant and energising — and somehow exactly what we all hoped to hear.

While the evening included the usual tributes — speeches from executives, nods to a remarkable 50-year partnership with Universal, and an exclusive exhibit of never-before-seen props (yes, E.T.’s bike made an appearance) — it also held a surprise. Spielberg revealed early footage from his upcoming, still-untitled sci-fi feature, the first adventure film he’s directed since Ready Player One in 2018.

The clip, featuring Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor in a mysterious chase sequence involving black SUVs and government agents, offered just enough intrigue to send fans into speculative overdrive. Could it be aliens again? Or something stranger?

Yet for all the space-age mystery, Spielberg also took a moment to reflect on a genre that continues to elude him: the Western. "It’s something that’s eluded me for all of these decades," he said in an earlier interview — a quiet admission from a man whose filmography has seemingly done it all. Perhaps that’s the ultimate frontier for him: not space, not time, but tumbleweeds and six-shooters.

So no, he’s not riding off just yet. And really, would we want him to? For a filmmaker still chasing new ideas with this kind of ambition, even decades into his career, it’s not about looking back — it’s about moving forward. The new theatre may pay tribute to his past, but the real takeaway is that he’s far from done.