Steven SoderberghMatt Damon says that Steven Soderbergh still plans to retire at the age of 51, according to Los Angeles Times. That would be in January 2014, which would mark the 25th anniversary of the Sundance premiere of sex, lies and videotape, his debut feature.

Soderbergh began talking about retirement nearly two years ago, telling Esquire: "That's a lot of time to do one thing. And it'll be, like, 30 movies. And that's enough. I don't want to have that falloff. I want to go out with 'Abbey Road.'" A few months later, Soderbergh spoke with an "air of tired resignation" to The Guardian UK about the possibility of doing a few more films and then just disappearing. We profiled Soderbergh's career at the time and speculated that the punishing schedule (and disappointing returns) for his epic 'Che,' combined with last-minute script disagreements about 'Moneyball' (which led to his departure from the project) may have laid him low for a period. But Damon's comments spark the question: Should Soderbergh retire? And a related, more general, query: What other directors should get out of the film business?

Rather than disappearing entirely, Damon suggests that Soderbergh intends to become a painter: "He says he's still young enough to have another career." Besides, Soderbergh told him that he's "exhausted with everything that interested him in terms of form. He's not interested in telling stories."

From that perspective, it makes perfect sense for Soderbergh to retire from making films. He's experimented with nearly every genre and has consistently played around with form, even in major studio films like 'Ocean's Thirteen.' As a visual artist, he's explored the outer limits of celluloid, video and digital imagery, and it's time to paint new canvasses, in whatever medium suits him best.

On the other hand, there are very few film directors working in the mainstream today who are willing to push the boundaries of the medium, as Soderbergh has done. Love him or hate him, he's helped to expand the possibilities for "popcorn flicks."

Furthermore, there are a number of other directors whose departure from the film world would be much more welcome. (We'll let you name names.)

What do you think?