As if Steven Soderbergh is actually Nostradamus, the filmmaker’s almost-decade-old “Contagion” seemed to lay out a similar story to the one that was experienced all over the world in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. And naturally, when you have a film become so relevant that it’s being talked about almost non-stop a decade later, there are going to be questions about whether or not there’s a potential sequel to be made. Plus, when you have a director like Soderbergh, who can turn around a film in record time, the pump seems primed for a quick “Contagion” sequel, right?
Well, maybe.
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According to a recent interview on the Happy. Sad. Confused. podcast, Soderbergh was asked if there’s a sequel in the works for “Contagion.” Perhaps something that could take the real-life pandemic we are currently experiencing and expanding on it even more. And there seems to be good news and bad news. The good news is that Soderbergh and his “Contagion” writer, Scott Z. Burns, are indeed working on a new project that could be seen as connected to the 2011 thriller. Unfortunately, it’s not a direct sequel that some might be hoping for.
“Not in a literal sense,” said Soderbergh. “I’ve got a project in development that Scott Burns is working with me on, that’s a kind of philosophical sequel to ‘Contagion,’ but in a different context. You’ll kind of look at the two of them as kind of paired, but very different hair colors. So, Scott and I had been talking about, ‘So, what’s the next iteration of a ‘Contagion’-type story? We have been working on that; we should probably hot foot it a little bit.”
READ MORE: Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Contagion’ Is Especially Sobering In Light Of Current Events
Obviously, this is a project that is seemingly in the early stages. So, it would be a bit too premature to begin wondering when, where, how we might see the film. That said, as mentioned above, Soderbergh is the type of filmmaker that could take a nugget of an idea and turn in a full feature in no time, so here’s hoping we get this “philosophical” sequel sooner rather than later.
In the same interview, the filmmaker also talks about two new films in the works, but won’t name them. He is hoping to hear word—presumably a budget green light—on the first one in the queue. And it would appear that if all goes well, the director is already suggesting that he’ll shoot in the spring.
“I’m hoping by the spring that things will have changed to an extent that the pure scale of COVID protocols for production have been diminished a little bit,” Soderbergh said.
Of course, before that, he needs to put the finishing touches on “No Sudden Move“ for HBO Max and a little event called the Oscars, which he is set to produce in the first part of 2021.
Here’s a terrific interview about “Contagion” and one that really foreshadows the spread of fake news and disinformation around vaccines and viruses that is so relevant now.