Steven Soderbergh Says His ‘Contagion’ Sequel Ideas Are “Terrifying,” But Potentially Scarily “Irresponsible”

A sequel to Scott Z. Burns and Steven Soderbergh‘s (“Black Bag”) global pandemic thriller “Contagion” has been teased recently by the filmmaker as he has mused about the idea of “plastics” impact on the world being a factor contributing to another horrific idea for a follow-up. But has now expanded upon that with “terrifying” sequel ideas in a recent chat with the podcast “One Decision.”

“We talk about it and have come up with some terrifying ideas,” Soderbergh said, while describing in-depth conversations he’s been having with pandemic experts. “There would have to be, I think, a plot that doesn’t feel predictable…I don’t want to torture people,” he added. “There are scenarios that you could come up with that I would categorize as irresponsible. You know, that I would go, ‘That’s a big idea, but I’m not sure I want to put that idea out there, frankly.’ I do think about that.”

READ MORE: Director Steven Soderbergh Teases Plastics Could Be A Horrific Entry Point For ‘Contagion’ Sequel

Asked if he was talking about online conspiracies that made COVID worse or something more sinister, Soderbergh suggested that the age of misinformation was part of it and turned the response back to the idea of responsibility, consequences, and being careful with your messages in art.

“I think about that whenever I’m about to unleash something to the public, whether it’s a [social] post, a movie, or a TV show, or an article,” Soderbergh said of trying to make a scary but compelling sequel. “I think it’s important to run through the potential consequences of what you’re saying and first of all, I would hope whatever, you’re saying is true and defensible and you can lay out a logic of what you’re saying, but secondly, I don’t want to contribute to what I consider noise. I want to be signal, I don’t want to be noise, and noise is insincere if not downright cynical.”

READ MORE: ‘Black Bag’ Review: Steven Soderbergh’s Deliciously Sleek & Taut Spy Puzzle Boasts A Splendid Cast Led By Michael Fassbender & Cate Blanchett

The landscape has certainly changed enough in the world of science and plausible doom scenarios as a species that a new film could be another equally scary look at our future. Something like climate change might be on equal footing to a deadly virus, as plastics, the oceans heating up and killing sea life, endless mega-storms, dwindling resources like fresh water, and wildfires impacting densely populated cities. All could be real-life threats to humanity that easily may inform or influence another story. Unlike a lot of sequels, this one feels very much needed as a mirror to our society and pointing out how we shouldn’t react to disasters.

Warner Bros. was the studio partner on the 2011 film, and we’ll have to wait and see if director-friendly studio heads Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy end up putting some major bucks alongside another high-profile cast behind the “Contagion” follow-up1 if it ultimately comes together.

Matt Damon, Jennifer Ehle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, and Laurence Fishburne previously starred in the original pic. Law playing a slimeball opportunist, media troll, and conspiracy theorist selling fake cures, who could easily cause trouble again and become a narrative path worth pursuing after being released from prison or even sneakily from behind bars.

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You can listen to that full episode of “One Decision” with Soderbergh below.

-Additional reporting by Rodrigo Perez