Jeremy Corbell is encouraged and optimistic about the first batch of alien and UFO files being released by the government … he says the transparency here is a long time coming.

The UFO expert and filmmaker joined us Friday on “TMZ Live,” and we asked him about the Pentagon releasing photos, videos and files on aliens and unidentified aerial phenomena.

Jeremy tells us the White House has told him more files will be released as part of a “slow burn” … and he hopes that means they are easing people into the information. On the other hand, he says a slow rollout could mean President Trump didn’t get the good stuff.

One of the more interesting files in the first release is a photo taken from the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, which shows a few dots just above the moon’s surface — with no explanation for the formation.

Jeremy says he hopes the photo encourages NASA astronauts to talk about what they’ve seen in space … and he says he kind of gets into that in his new movie, “Sleeping Dog,” which premiered in select theaters today.

We also asked Jeremy why it’s taken so long for the public to be shown the UFO files … and he explains why a longstanding practice should be coming to an end.