Does the Project Blue Book Cast Believe in UFOs?

History’s Project Blue Book is getting a second season, and we finally got a glimpse into what it might cover at a panel during the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con. However, the show is about UFOs, and with all of the UFO news in the headlines, the cast’s thoughts on the UFO topic itself made for some great conversation. The Project Blue Book cast even had some praise for their fellow History UFO series, Unidentified: Inside America’s UFO Investigation.

The panel included Aidan Gillen (Dr. J. Allen Hyenk), Michael Malarkey(Captain Quinn), Laura Mennell (Mimi Hynek), Neal McDonough (General James Harding, David O’Leary (Creator/Executive Producer/Writer) and Sean Jablonski (Showrunner/Executive Producer/Writer). I was able to ask the panel to share their thoughts on UFOs and if the show affected their views. Gillen started off saying he has always been open to the idea. 

Malarkey had much more to say. He says that although he was also open-minded to the possibilities, he didn’t think about UFOs much before the show. Now he thinks about them a lot. He says he is still learning and does not consider himself a believer. He also thinks it is good to know both sides of the debate.

further reading: Project Blue Book Review (Spoiler Free)

Mennell agreed with Malarkey but added that it’s hard to deny the phenomenon when pilots are reporting seeing things that are defying physics. Reports by Navy pilots have been featured in Project Blue Book‘s sister show, Unidentified. In particular, the story of a Navy wing commander who chased a 40-foot white object he described looking like a giant Tic Tac. After matching his maneuvers, the pilot says the object sped off at an incredible speed.

McDonough admitted he was skeptical about UFOs until he started working on Project Blue Book. However, he says he doesn’t think God would stop at making us. McDonough thinks if God could make such a wide variety of creatures, why would he not make intelligent life elsewhere? 

McDonough also wanted to make another point about the heightened level of credibility the UFO phenomenon is experiencing right now. He said that Project Blue Book is the new No. 2 scripted show on TV and that is because UFOs are currently a topic we can talk about.

O’Leary quickly and confidently replied that there is irrefutable evidence UFOs are real. However, he notes that this does not necessarily mean UFOs are aliens. O’Leary pointed out the real Dr. Hynek, who investigated UFOs with the U.S. Air Force for decades, was not convinced aliens were the answer to the UFO question. O’Leary says Hynek had “a lot of ideas” about other possibilities. 

The last to answer was Jablonski, who told the audience when it comes to UFOs he’s “all in.”

The panel was also asked about the big UFO news of the moment. A joke Facebook event to storm Area 51 has been making headlines. As the story grows in popularity, the number of people claiming on Facebook they are going to the raid is also increasing. As of the writing of this article, the count is nearing 2 million. There were laughs about how the timing of the event is great to help promote the show and this panel.

read more: Project Blue Book Actor Michael Malarkey Caught the UFO “Bug”

However, O’Leary also pointed out that the popularity of the Area 51 story shows that people are more open to this topic. He says this is a result of recent credible UFO revelations such as those from the military cases covered on History’s Unidentified, and a new documentary on Area 51.

According to History, Roswell and Area 51 will be covered in the second season.

Although the majority of cast and crew seems to think UFOs pose a real mystery, not all are ready to go all in. However, the show is making the cast consider the possibilities, which is what O’Leary hopes the show will do for audiences as well.

The second season is set to premiere this winter.

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