‘Contagion’ Star Matt Damon Believes That The Steven Soderbergh Movie Foretold The Pandemic

One of the first streaming titles to get the quarantine-bump was Contagion, Steven Soderbergh’s 2011 thriller that is now the scariest movie of all-time. At one point, it was “the most watched movie in the Warner Bros. library after the Harry Potter films… In 2019, Contagion ranked at number 270.” I, personally, have no interest in watching something that reminds me of the everyday horror we’re living through, especially when there’s so many other Soderbergh films to enjoy (Magic Mike XXL is right there), and I’m not the only one. But it’s still a popular streaming option, and star Matt Damon believes that’s because of how accurately it “predicted” the coronavirus pandemic.

“Anybody who says you couldn’t predict this — I mean, just look at Contagion,” Damon said on Dublin radio station Spin 1038 in an interview shared on Wednesday. “Ten years ago, we made a movie just by talking to experts and asking them, ‘How would this look And how would it go down’ So it’s upsetting. The whole thing is tragic and sad.”

Damon has a personal connection to the pandemic, too, as his daughter Alexia tested positive for the coronavirus “early on,” as did her roommates in New York City. (Damon, his wife, and their other kids are in Ireland.) She “got through it fine,” he said, and “we’ll reunite with her at the end of the month,” but it was scary being so far away from her.

Scotty doesn’t know, but Matt Damon knows what to do: “Sit at home and wash our hands and socially distance.” You can watch the full interview below.