Steven Soderbergh Got Really Into ‘Star Wars’ Last Year, According to His 2024 Watch List

Is Steven Soderbergh preparing to join the “Star Wars” universe? Or is he just a huge fan of George Lucas and Tony Gilroy?

The filmmaker behind classics like “Ocean’s 11” and “Traffic,” as well as the upcoming supernatural horror “Presence,” released his 2024 watch list last week, as he has done for many years now, sharing it via his “Soderblog” under “Seen, Read 2024.” Included on the list are a range of films, television shows, and shorts, as well as novels, short stories, and plays, but of particular note are his multiple viewings of “Star Wars” films across the year, seemingly sparked by his watching the Disney+ “Rogue One” spin-off series “Andor” from Tony Gilroy. Soderbergh and Gilroy are longtime friends and collaborators, the former having helped finance the latter’s “Michael Clayton.” They also did a commentary track together for Carol Reed’s “The Third Man” that’s really worth a listen. And judging by Soderbergh’s 2024 film and TV intake, he spent much of the year thinking about a galaxy far, far away.

On February 3, 2024, Soderbergh started Season 1 of “Andor,” waiting a week to continue and watching one or two episodes every other day, clearly letting it soak in versus bingeing as he did with “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” and “The Gentleman.” After finishing the first five episodes of “Andor” though, Soderbergh veered into other “Star Wars” material, watching “The Phantom Menace,” “Return of the Jedi,” and “Attack of the Clones.” All three of these entries were poorly received upon release, but have grown in favorability. Moving past this stretch, Soderbergh watched Episode 6 of “Andor,” then took a long break, not returning to the series for months, and then bingeing three episodes at a time, finishing over the course of two days. A month later, Soderbergh took in a viewing of “The Empire Strikes Back,” then closed out the year by watching “A New Hope” twice, “Revenge of the Sith,” as well as repeat entries of “The Phantom Menace” and “Attack of the Clones.”

“Star Wars” hasn’t been featured much amongst Soderbergh’s lists over the last few years, so this could just be a needed rewatch or perhaps he felt inspired to return to the saga after watching his friend’s show, but fans would be forgiving for daydreaming about a world where Soderbergh is re-familiarizing himself with the world and storylines for a particular purpose. Even if he’s not involved with the “Star Wars” universe, he could be prepping for a sci-fi project that’s similar in nature. Also of note, Soderbergh had multiple screenings of his new spy thriller “Black Bag,” which is set to release March 14 from Focus Features and stars Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, Regé Jean-Page, Pierce Brosnan, and Marisa Abela.

While many items, like Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Conversation” and the Humphrey Bogart/Ingrid Bergman wartime romance “Casablanca,” have come to be expected viewing for Soderbergh, he also took time to take in new releases like Alex Garland’s “Civil War” and Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man,” starring Glen Powell. This doesn’t even count all the awards offerings he packed into the end of the year like “All We Imagine as Light,” “Nickel Boys,” and “The Brutalist.”

Read Soderbergh’s full list here.

“Presence” releases in theaters January 24 from Neon.