Nearly three years after announcing his retirement from the film industry, Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh is heading back to the big screen.
Sources tell Variety that Soderbergh is attached to direct the feature film ‘Hillbilly Heist’ with Channing Tatum and Matt Damon on board to star.
Glen Basner will produce the movie, which is currently a mystery, but sources say Soderbergh recently got his hands on the script and quickly fell in love with the premise.
No reps returned calls for comment.
Sources tell Variety that most of the major studios including Warner Bros., Sony and Fox are all lining up to acquire the package and that a deal should be in place by the end of the week.
Since his last feature film in 2013 (‘Side Effects’), Soderbergh has focused his efforts on TV, directing the Emmy-winning HBO pic ‘Behind the Candelabra,’ which also starred Damon. The duo previously worked together on the ‘Ocean's Eleven’ franchise, ‘Contagion’ and ‘The Informant!’
Soderbergh and Tatum also have a deep past. They worked together on ‘Haywire,’ ‘Magic Mike’ and ‘Side Effects.’
In 2012, Soderbergh had said prior to shooting ‘Side Effects’ that the prescription thriller, which co-starred Rooney Mara, would be his final feature film, even though for years he had threatened to leave the biz.
Soderbergh, who won the best director Oscar for ‘Traffic’ in 2000, will still have plenty to do in the TV world as he prepares to move forward with a third season of ‘The Knick’ as well as his HBO pilot ‘Mosaic’ starring Sharon Stone.
Tatum can be seen next in the Coen brothers' pic ‘Hail Caesar!’ and is set to start production on X-Men spinoff ‘Gambit’ sometime this spring. Damon, currently nominated for an Oscar for ‘The Martian,’ can be seen next in untitled ‘Bourne Identity’ pic. Tatum is repped by UTA and Managament 360 and Damon is repped by WME. Soderbergh is repped by Anonymous Content.
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