The director who left Emily Blunt starstruck: “I was trying not to dork out”
From romcom and period dramas to an Oscar-nominated turn in a Christopher Nolan movie, the career of Emily Blunt has been on a steady upward trajectory for decades now. The British star has proven that she can do pretty much everything. She provided a new spin on a beloved character (Mary Poppins Returns), starred in a groundbreaking horror franchise (‘A Quiet Place’), and, most impressively of all, she voiced Fizzlepop Berrytwist in My Little Pony: The Movie. Where was her Oscar nomination for that?
Her rise to superstardom has coincided with a series of collaborations with some of the best directors in the business. Alongside the aforementioned Sir Nolan, Blunt also appeared in Denis Villeneuve’s tense drug thriller Sicario. 2023’s Pain Hustlers might not have been a critical darling, but it did allow Blunt to work with David Yates, the man behind the final for entries in the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise. In 2026, she will add another name to her impressive resume – perhaps the most impressive name of all.
It has been announced that Blunt will be part of the cast for Stephen Spielberg’s next picture. Not much is known about the project, apart from the fact that it will be a science fiction story, and it will also star Josh O’Connor, Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo, and Colin Firth. The upcoming movie has been described as a ‘flying saucer’ film, with a script from iconic screenwriter David Koepp based on an original Spielberg idea. We don’t know much else about what this film will entail, but we do know that one of its cast will absolutely love it.
“I was so awestruck to even get the call,” Blunt told Deadline. “Then in the meeting, (Spielberg) goes, ‘Would you like to know why you’re here?’ And I was like, ‘Yes please.’ I was trying not to dork out and just talk to him about endless scenes from Jaws that I’ve been obsessed with for years. He’s really magical. I’m very happy.”
Anyone who has followed Blunt’s career for any length of time will know that she loves Spielberg’s shark-based classic. She has described it as a ‘perfect film’ in the past and included it in her ‘Four Favourites’ when asked by Letterboxd. Blunt was born in 1983, eight years after Jaws conquered movie theatres around the world and coined the phrase ‘blockbuster’. She must have come to the film after the fact, which is a testament to the staying power of Spielberg’s breakthrough work.
Speaking of blockbusters, this film will mark the legendary director’s return to the Summer tradition. He hasn’t made a proper ‘event’ movie since 2018’s Ready Player One, instead spending his time on passion projects like a remake of West Side Story and the semi-autobiographical The Fabelmans. Of course, Spielberg has a notable pedigree in the sci-fi genre – some have speculated this movie could be a spiritual successor to Close Encounters of the Third Kind – and with a cast like this at his disposal, hopes are high that he is cooking up something magical.
Regardless of how the final product turns out, a credit in a Spielberg production is further proof that Blunt is now part of the acting elite. On a personal level, it means she has now worked alongside one of her heroes, and now has even more reason to bore people to death with how much she loves Jaws.
