Matt Damon Says Coronavirus Pandemic Was Predictable Due To Film 'Contagion'

The coronavirus outbreak has caught everyone off-guard, except perhaps Matt Damon, who said the pandemic was predictable for him after filming the movie “Contagion.”

Talking to a radio program in Ireland (via Page Six), where he was filming when the outbreak erupted, Damon said the contagious virus that was first discovered in Wuhan, China could have been seen from a mile away, just like what his team did in creating the 2011 film “Contagion,” which revolves around the rapid spread of a deadly virus.

“Anybody who says you couldn’t have predicted this, just look at ‘Contagion.’ Ten years ago we made a movie just by talking to experts,” Damon said.

New York Post explained that the movie talks about Damon’s character struggle as the world crumbled down because of a virus that patient zero contracted during an interaction at a casino with a chef who butchered a pig that was infected by a bat.

In March, “Contagion” became one of the most popular films in iTunes and was the only entry in the top 10 that wasn’t from 2019. The directors and writer wanted to make the movie as realistic as they could so they consulted epidemiology experts.

“Their goal was to try and really show people as accurate a picture that could be conjured, in hopes that it would motivate political leaders to get mobilized,” health expert Laurie Garrett said.

Garrett, who was one of those consulted for the film, has been following and understanding outbreaks for years and even published the 1994 book “The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance.”

It wasn’t just Damon who saw the resemblance between what’s happening now and “Contagion.” In February, Gwyneth Paltrow, who played the 49-year-old actor’s wife and the patient zero in the film, also referenced to it.

On her flight to Paris Fashion Week, she took a selfie wearing a face mask. Paltrow quipped she had already been in the film and she would just be sleeping on it.

She then reminded everyone to stay safe and wash their hands, just as the experts advised to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.