NEED TO KNOW
Ocean’s Eleven is getting a prequel.
Bradley Cooper and Margot Robbie are in talks to star in the upcoming film that tells what happened before Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his team pulled off the ultimate casino heist in 2001, Variety and Deadline reported on Thursday, Oct. 9.
Both outlets note that the deal is not yet finalized for Cooper, 50, and Robbie, 35.
However, it was reported that Lee Isaac Chung, whose directorial work includes Twisters, will take over for Jay Roach, who was previously announced as the prequel’s director.
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The Maestro actor and Barbie actress have been close for years, and have wanted to work together, sources told Deadline.
Prior to Thursday’s reports, Robbie was rumored to be joining the prequel with Ryan Gosling as Danny Ocean’s parents in the film.
At the December 2023 Los Angeles premiere of The Boys in the Boat, Clooney, now 64, reacted to that news.
“Yeah! Margot Robbie is my mother? I’ve always thought that,” he told reporters at the time. Clooney added, “Ryan Gosling is my father. Now when you think about it, it makes sense. Truly.”
Clooney’s version of Ocean’s Eleven is based on the 1960 film of the same title, which starred Frank Sinatra as Danny Ocean alongside Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Dean Martin and Joey Bishop.
Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and the late Bernie Mac starred in the Steven Soderbergh-directed 2001 film.
Since then, the franchise has grown to include 2004’s Ocean’s Twelve, which saw Clooney, Roberts, and Damon return, adding Catherine Zeta-Jones and Vincent Cassel.
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Ocean’s Thirteen came in 2007, seeing Al Pacino join the cast. Don Cheadle also signed on for Twelve and Thirteen. Sandra Bullock led the 2018 spinoff Ocean’s Eight.
In a recent interview with E! News, Clooney confirmed that Ocean’s Fourteen will begin production in the near future with Roberts, Pitt and Cheadle. “We just got the budget approved at Warner Bros. and we’re trying to set up,” Clooney told the outlet.
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“It’s just scheduling, so it’s just setting a start date for us,” he continued. Ocean’s Fourteen will “probably start in about nine or 10 months, shooting,” the Batman & Robin star said.
He later discussed his relationship with his costars, telling E! News, “Yeah, Brad, Matt and Don and Julia. I had dinner last night with Julia. They’re all still really dear friends. And so the chance to work together would be fun.”
