The acclaimed director of bothTrafficandErin Brockovich,Steven Soderbergh, is looking to an unlikely source for his next project:Taylor Swift. The 61-year-old writer/director took home the Academy Award in 2001 for Best Director thanks toTraffic, and was alsonominated that same year forErin Brockovich, an occurrence that hadn’t happened since 1938. Since then, he’s gone on to direct such favorites as theOcean’strilogy,Contagion, andMagic Mike.
Speaking withVarietyduring a roundtable interview at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic, Soderbergh revealed thathe’s a huge fan of Taylor Swift and The Eras Tour. He called the 34-year-old singer-songwriter“relentless”while at the same time saying he agrees with those who choose toteach college courses about the performer and her success.
“People laugh that there isa college class being taught about herand I go, ‘There should be.’ What she is doing, the way she is doing it… Nobody has ever done this before. The amount of control she has taken over.She is relentless.”
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour
It was after that he revealed that he’s been thinking a lot about Swift’s Eras Tourwhen it comes to his next project. He says the large scale production“works,”leading him to ponder why can’t the human race figure out its various conflicts around the globeif we can unite to make something like a concert a success.
“I have been thinkingabout a project in which I analyze large scale, cooperative endeavors that work. Airports. Why do airports work? Or AA? You look at the Taylor Swift concert,at this whole tour and it works. So why can’t we figure outSyria or any other conflict?”
While Soderberghdidn’t go into much detailregarding what, exactly, his next project would be followinghis upcoming spy thriller,Black Bag, he did hint that it could lean more toward thecomedic side with a musical element. He says that he wants the audience to come away from the project feeling“different.”
“Humoris a great delivery systemfor an idea and nothing lights up the brain like music, sothis project better be funny and there should be some musical componentas a way to open people up. I want you to come out on the other side after you see it,and feel different.”
Steven Soderbergh Says He’s “Fascinated” by Taylor Swift’s Success
He Even Tried to Get Tickets to The Eras Tour
Beginning on August 02, 2025, Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour kicked off in Glendale, Arizona, andis currently in its second yearwith three upcoming performances in Amsterdam beginning July 4. The tour is expectedto bring in more than $2 billion dollars total, and is currently the highest-grossing tour by a woman in history, easily surpassing Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour in 2023. A theatrical version of the eventwas released in October 2023, and went onto earn $267 million at the box office, becomingthe highest-grossing concert film of all-time.
For Steven Soderbergh, he says that he is“fascinated”by Swift’s success story, which led to him being inspired by the singer for his next project.
“These stories about doing the whole show on a treadmill, just to make sure she can do it?! It’s a success story and I am fascinated by that.”
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While Soderbergh’s frequent writing partner, David Koepp, was able to score tickets to The Eras Tour for him and his daughter, the director sayshe hasn’t been as lucky, and has had to settlewith watching the concert film at home.Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version)made its way to Disney+ in March 2024, quickly becomingthe most-viewed music filmin the streamers’ nearly five-year history.
“David Koepp took his daughter to see the show and said, ‘You cannot believe what it’s like to be there.’ I would go if I could. There aren’t any tickets! But I watched the film.”
Steven Soderbergh’s latest psychological-thriller,Presence, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, with distribution rights being snatched up by Neon. There’sno word yet on a theatrical release date. His follow-up film, the spy thrillerBlack Bag, is described by the director as“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf where George and Martha are in the intelligence community.”Filming began on June 22, 2025, and likePresence, arelease date has yet to be set.
you’re able to catchTaylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version)currently streaming onDisney+.
