It’s been 40 years since Close Encounters of the Third Kind first premiered, paving the way for a whole new type of blockbuster alien movie, and just in case you missed it the first time around (or if you weren’t alive yet), Sony has announced their plans to re-release the film in theaters.
On July 3 — World UFO Day — the studio released a short and mysterious teaser video on YouTube entitled “This Means Something” that includes audio from the original film. They also launched the new website WeAreStillNotAlone.com, where you can enter your email to “receive updates on UFO sightings”… or, you know, receive updates from Sony Pictures. This viral marketing initially led fans to think that Sony was pursuing either a sequel or reboot to the classic sci-fi film, but they’re instead doing something much less controversial by re-releasing the movie in theaters for its 40th anniversary.
November 16 marks the official anniversary of the film’s debut, but the re-release is going to launch on September 1 and run for a week, according to Variety. Compared with what’s been going on lately with that other blockbuster alien franchise that debuted in 1977, I’m happy to see that Sony has decided to avoid the sequel/reboot temptation (for now anyway) and instead honor the original by giving a new generation the chance to see it in theaters. Seems like the perfect late summer movie.
