Matt Damon, Kate Winslet and Marion Cotillard set to battle 'Contagion' outbreak

Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard and Kate Winslet will star in Steven Soderbergh's "Contagion" later this year.

Credit: AP Photo

Steven Soderbergh has been trying to get the commercial side of his career back on track after a long drought of hits.  It didn't work out with Brad Pitt and the baseball drama "Moneyball," but now "The Informant" director is recruiting some heavy hitters for a new viral-outbreak thriller.

According to Variety, "Contagion" will star Soderbergh favorite Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard and Jude Law and center on a deadly disease outbreak, but feature multiple storylines similar to the filmmaker's Oscar-winning "Traffic." 

Scott Z. Burns, who worked with Soderbergh on "Informant" and with Damon on "The Bourne Ultimatum," wrote the screenplay.  The project is currently being independently financed, but could find a studio partner coming on board before filming is expected to begin later this year.

At the moment, Soderberh is shooting another potential commercial breakout, "Knockout" for Relativity Media.  That thriller features the big screen debut of mixed martial arts champion Gina Carano, but Soderbergh has smartly recruited Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas and Antonio Banderas to give her an experienced starpower assist.