You had me at ‘Soderbergh directing a Traffic-like multi-story film about a viral epidemic,’ so you didn’t need to sell me so hard with the cast. And yet Contagion, the Scott Z. Burns-penned illness thriller, has got a killer cast that keeps getting more killer.

Variety has reported that Laurence Fishburne is joining the cast, playing a doctor. Meanwhile Slashfilm noticed an older Movieweb interview with John Hawkes, who reveals that he’ll be in the film as well. Hawkes is very circumspect about what he reveals, saying only that he’s ‘part of a large group.’ Hawkes is riding high on being excellent in Winter’s Bone, and I suspect he’s got a much smaller role than he deserves.

These are just two of the new actors that have joined a fairly stellar ensemble featuring Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Winslet. It’s a huge batch of Oscar-caliber performers and filmmakers, all in the service of what is essentially a big science fiction story. That’s pretty fucking cool.