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Since E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial is one of the best sci-fi movies ever made, I’d think just about every question about it would have already been answered by Steven Spielberg. But I was clearly wrong about one of the most iconic '80s movies! Someone just asked the filmmaker something about the alien I've wondered about, and I’m so happy they did.
The filmmaker has been promoting his new alien project, Disclosure Day, which recently came out on the 2026 movie schedule, and, of course, many of his classic films are coming up in interviews. In a chat with The New York Times, here’s what happened when Spielberg was asked bluntly if the beloved alien ET was “slimy or dry”:
[Laughs] That’s a wild question. E.T. was a little moist, but never slimy…. And E.T. was only dry when E.T. got sick.
I’m so happy I’m not the only person who thought about this during my many rewatches of E.T. over the years. The young alien is very believable when you’re watching the movie, and I’ve been curious before about how he might feel to the touch. Thankfully, he’s not slimy (because ew, gross). As Steven Spielberg also added:
When I hear the word ‘slimy,’ I think it’s Ridley’s H.R. Giger Alien when the teeth come out. That’s slimy. E.T. never had the tendrils of drool. We didn’t go that far.
While E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial did actually start as a killer alien horror movie, ultimately it became a wondrous sci-fi adventure starring kids. He might not have been as favored by them if he looked all slimy. That being said, E.T. is a “little moist”, according to the movie’s director. And he’s only completely dry in that heart-wrenching scene when he’s being held by government agents and looks incredibly sick and pale.
E.T. was brought to life on set thanks to special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi, who designed a highly advanced animatronic puppet for the movie. In addition, some scenes featured people in suits, especially when E.T. moves around, whereas the close-ups greatly involved the animatronic. The life-like alien character was reportedly so convincing that 7-year-old Drew Barrymore really thought E.T. was real.
While we might have learned more about E.T. if there was ever a sequel, I still appreciate that it's a standalone movie where we have room as an audience to wonder about things like this.
In another recent interview, Steven Spielberg did answer a couple of other questions I’ve long had about my favorite movie. He said that E.T. had to leave so that Elliott could grow up like a regular kid, before also confirming that Elliott never did see him again after he went home.
I've had these thoughts about E.T. forever! Of course, now I want to watch E.T. yet again, after learning this tidbit about him.
