Steven Soderbergh Has “Terrifying Ideas” for ‘Contagion’ Follow-Up But Doesn’t Want to Be “Irresponsible”

Director Steven Soderbergh and writer Scott Z. Burns have been discussing a “philosophical sequel” to their 2011 pandemic thriller Contagion after COVID-19 gave the film new resonance.

Speaking on the One Decision podcast, Soderbergh said that they’ve “come up with some terrifying ideas” for the follow-up after speaking with pandemic experts. “There would have to be, I think, a plot that doesn’t feel predictable.”

He continues, “I don’t want to torture people. 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.”

Contagion‘s ensemble cast included Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Ehle, and Sanaa Lathan.

When Beth Emhoff returns to Minneapolis from business in Hong Kong, what she thought was jet lag takes a virulent turn. Two days later, she’s dead in the ER and the doctors tell her shocked and grieving husband they have no idea why. Soon, others exhibit the same mysterious symptoms: hacking coughs and fever, followed by seizure, brain hemorrhage… and ultimately, death.

The numbers quickly multiply as the contagion sweeps across all borders, fueled by the countless human interactions that make up the course of an average day. A global pandemic explodes.

As the death toll escalates and people struggle to protect themselves and their loved ones in a society breaking down, one activist blogger claims the public isn’t getting the truth about what’s really going on and sets off an epidemic of paranoia and fear as infectious as the virus itself.