Steven Soderbergh is working on a "philosophical" sequel to Contagion

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, several members of the scientific community were not exactly surprised. Many had known for quite some time that it wasn’t a matter of if, but when—among them Ian Lipkin, a renowned “virus hunter” and epidemiologist who consulted on Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion. The 2011 film, scripted by Scott Z. Burns, experienced a huge resurgence in popularity in the early days of the pandemic, back when we were naively fawning over puzzles and still capable of finding some novelty in the situation. There was (and is) an obviously cathartic appeal to revisiting Soderbergh’s film, from the timely narrative to the schadenfreude in the Gwyneth Paltrow of it all. The filmmaker may be attempting a repeat performance of sorts, as Soderbergh has revealed that he’s working on a “philosophical” sequel to Contagion.