Earlier this month, news broke that Steven Soderbergh is reportedly working on a movie about the Panama Papers that he was maybe, possibly going to direct, despite apparently being retired from helming feature films. Well, now he’s got competition. Netflix is developing a movie about the same subject and they’ve got some insiders on board, the company announced this morning.
The streaming service acquired the rights to Panama Papers: Breaking The Story Of How The World’s Rich And Powerful Hide Their Money written by Frederik Obermaier and Bastian Obermayer, the German journalists responsible for bringing the documents to light along with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. John Wells Productions is also partnering with Netflix on the project, which will center on Obermaier and Obermayer’s reporting. “We are confident that between the expert investigative work of Obermaier and Obermayer, the only journalists in touch directly with John Doe, the ICIJ, and the master storytelling of John Wells Productions, we will be able to deliver a gripping tale that will deliver the same type of impact as the The Panama Papers when they were first revealed on the world’s front pages,” Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said in a statement.
No word on whether Wells, the man behind the likes of August: Osage County and Burnt, will direct. We’d probably rather see what Soderbergh does with the topic, but it’s looking like there will be more than enough Panama Papers movies to go around—you might say that someone could even take one of these projects offshore.