Netflix teams with Steven Soderbergh for ensemble drama, 'The Laundromat' based on the story of the Panama Papers

Image from Empire

By Darian Scalamoni

            Recently, it was announced that Netflix would be teaming with one of our great filmmakers, Steven Soderbergh for his recent basketball drama, High Flying Bird starring Andre Holland. As the streaming juggernaut does, once it connects with a name, they’ll do their best to reunite with them and they’ve done just that with Soderbergh. According to Deadline, Soderbergh’s other upcoming drama, The Laundromat will release on Netflix.

            The Laundromat stars an all-star cast with Antonio Banderas, Gary Oldman, Meryl Streep and David Schwimmer confirmed to be on board as well as Will Forte and Riley Keough being in talks for roles. The film is based on the true story of the Panama Papers, a money laundering scheme at the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca. They created thousands of fake “companies” to help their client base avoid paying their taxes. The scandal drew in tons of world leaders including the current President of the United States, Donald Trump. The leak of the data, which was 11 million records, was the largest in corporate and government history.

            It’s a massive get for Netflix and with the cast assembled, I’m even more excited than I was when this project was first announced. Banderas could be seen in Life Itself which is currently in theaters and Schwimmer is currently on Will & Grace on NBC. While Streep and Oldman will be seen next in HBO’s Big Little Lies and Hunter Killer, respectively.

            The Laundromat currently has no release date but it’s expected to release in time for next year’s award season. We’ll keep you updated here at Cinema Wave as we get more information.