Blink-182’s Tom DeLonge is back with his first movie, a new album, and a Bigfoot theory you need to hear

polygon.com:

Tom DeLonge can’t believe he’s still relevant — but why wouldn’t he be? After building Blink-182 up into a rowdy, ridiculous pillar of the pop-punk era, DeLonge left the group to excavate his own obsessions. He formed his transmedia musical collective Angels & Airwaves, wrote children’s books, and started apparel lines. Then, in a move that would eventually rattle world governments, he founded To the Stars, a company aimed at uncovering the truths about Earth’s UFO encounters. DeLonge did not take his reputation as a high-profile paranormal theorist lightly, and in 2020, his advocacy for transparency about so-called extraterrestrial encounters led to the declassification of UFO videos and an official report from the Pentagon.

Somehow, he also found time to direct a movie. This month’s Monsters of California tells a coming-of-age story about a group of friends poking around the fringes of the universe — or at least the greater SoCal area. Through the haze of maybe a bit too much pot, the teens uncover government cover-ups, otherworldly creatures, and the meaning of friendship.

The earnest and extremely Tom DeLonge indie is out in theaters and on VOD at yet another explosive moment for the musician turned filmmaker: Blink-182 is back, riding a TikTok-driven nostalgia wave. Their new album, One More Time, hit on Oct. 20 along with the announcement of an arena tour planned for 2024. But when I jump on the phone with DeLonge to discuss Monsters of California and the Blink-182 renaissance, the conversation naturally turns to bigger questions. Rather, the Big Questions. The truth, as is the case for Tom DeLonge, is always out there.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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