Soderbergh, Carano in "Knockout" pairing

Director Steven Soderbergh has committed to next direct “Knockout,” a spy thriller that will mark the screen starring debut of Gina Carano, the mixed martial arts circuit fighter. 

Relativity Media will fully finance, and Soderbergh plans a late January production start. Domestic distribution is expected to be locked quickly.  

Soderbergh locked in the film just as his Warner Bros. comedy, “The Informant!,” made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. The Matt Damon-starrer opens stateside on September 18.

Scripted by Lem Dobbs, “Knockout” casts Carano as a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who is given a second chance to use her skills for constructive purposes. The film is a closer cousin to “La Femme Nikita” and “Kill Bill” than “Million Dollar Baby,” in that it doesn’t take place in the fight ring. Rather, Soderbergh considers the film as a flat out action film in the James Bond mold, and will shoot in locations around the world that include Ireland, Turkey and the U.S.

Soderbergh will surround Carano will name actors in supporting roles. 

The MMA circuit is where Soderbergh discovered Carano, a lightweight division slugger with movie star good looks. The Muay Thai-trained fighter has compiled a 7-1 record. Though Carano suffered her first loss in a title fight last month, she is considered the face of the fledgling women’s mixed martial arts fighting circuit.

Dobbs previously scripted “Kafka” and “The Limey” for Soderbergh.

The film will be produced by Gregory Jacobs, Soderbergh’s longtime collaborator. Relativity topper Ryan Kavanaugh will also be a producer, and Tucker Tooley is executive producer.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with Steven Soderbergh on this project, which is clearly right in his sweet spot,” said Relativity’s Kavanaugh.

“This deal creates a true partnership between us and Steven, where together we will make a mainstream action film with universal appeal for a reasonable budget, and with the incentives for the studio and filmmaker totally aligned," said Tooley. 

Soderbergh, who earlier this summer exited a plan to direct “Moneyball” for Columbia Pictures, most recently directed “The Girlfriend Experience,” a pic that starred Sasha Grey in her first performance in a legit film.

Carano so far has appeared as herself in the docu “Ring Girls” and the Oxygen reality series “Fight Girls.” She also served a stint as Crush on NBC’s “American Gladiators,” and had a role in the upcoming Michael Jai White action film “Blood and Bone.”

Carano is repped by Gersh, manager Scott Karp and attorney Gary Stiffelman, while Soderbergh is repped by manager Michael Sugar at Anonymous Content and attorney Michael Adler.