Regardless of how you may feel about Greta Gerwigโs Barbie, thereโs simply no denying the onscreen chemistry between Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling โ which is an extremely promising sign for their reunion in the upcoming Oceanโs 11 prequel.
Initially, it was believed to be a prequel to the all-star Steven Soderbergh trilogy led by George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon. Then, the conversation shifted towards a prequel to the original Oceanโs 11 starring Frank Sinatraโs Rat Pack; set in Europe (more specifically Monte Carlo) during the swinging 60s.
RELATED: โOceanโs 14โ Is Still On The Cards, According To Don Cheadle
Now, itโs now been confirmed that both reports were sorta correct.
According to Showbiz411, itโll simply be dubbed Oceans with Robbie and Gosling set to portray the parents of Danny (George Clooney) and Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock).
The Barbie co-starsโ characters will spend the duration of this feature-length affair teaching their impressionable young offspring the fundamentals of thieving from the rich in the ever-glamourous Monaco. Heist 101 abroad, if you will.
โThe Monaco Grand Prix is the backdrop and thereโs a big famous shipping magnate who has a yacht. Itโs not inexpensive. And I wanted it to be old-fashioned,โ director Jay Roach noted on a previous occasion.
โMargot brought it to me as a kind of old-fashioned epic love story slash adventure disguised as a heist. It is a heist movie still, but itโs very much a love story. And we were both inspired by Hitchcock. To Catch A Thief but also Notorious. It just wants to be a big, big, you know, cinematic spectacle.โ
Based on how Robbie and Gosling managed to play off one another throughout the duration of Barbenheimerโs pinker half, what we already know about the Oceanโs mythology, and the killer costuming opportunities (Monaco in the 60sโฆ I mean come on), weโre just about ready to bet the house on this one.
In addition to taking centre stage, Margot Robbie has signed on to produce the Oceanโs 11 prequel along with her husband and partner at LuckyChap Entertainment Tom Ackerley, LuckyChapโs Josey McNamara, Oceanโs 8 director Gary Ross, and Olivia Milch.
Robbie has also reunited with the aforementioned Roach, who directed her in Bombshell; the Oceanโs 11 screenplay, on the other hand, is being accomplished by debutante Hollywood scribe Carrie Solomon as we speak. Sources indicate Village Roadshow is involved with the co-financing.
When Matt Damonโs Linus Caldwell said, โI guess Iโll see you when I see youโ to Clooneyโs Danny Ocean, Brad Pittโs Rusty Ryan, and by extension, the audience during the closing airport scene of Oceanโs 13โฆ we all assumed he meant within the following years.
Little did we know, the franchise grind to a halt for over a decade until Gary Rossโ all-female Oceanโs 8 fronted by Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Rihanna, Sarah Paulson, Helena Bonham Carter, and more. But reboots and spin-offs aside, the saga may soon experience further expansion with the long-awaited Oceanโs 14.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly while promoting his latest collaboration with Oceanโs trilogy director Steven Soderbergh, No Sudden Move, Don Cheadle โ who played the cartoonish British demolitions expert Basher Tarr โ revealed heโd been in discussions with the man himself about the matter.
โWe were talking about it [after Oceanโs Thirteen], and then Bernie Mac passed, and very quickly we were likeโฆ โNo, we donโt want to do it,โโ Don Cheadle explained back in 2021.
โBut I just did a movie with Steven and he said, โI think there may be a way to do it again. Iโm thinking about it.โ And it didnโt go much further than that. But I donโt knowโฆ I donโt know who all would be in it. I imagine the main group of us would be in. It would be interesting to see.โ
Beyond Bernie Mac, who portrayed the incredibly charismatic Frank Catton, Saul Bloom actor Carl Reiner has also since passed away. Meaning Danny Ocean and Rusty Ryan will probably need to find a few others to fill out the crew; joining Elliot Gould as Reuben Tishkoff, Casey Affleck as Virgil Malloy, Scott Caan as Turk Malloy, Eddie Jemison as Livingston Dell, Shaobo Qin as The Amazing Yen, and of course, Cheadleโs Basher.
RELATED: I Actually Did โBarbenheimerโ โ Hereโs How It Went
How Soderbergh has found โa way to do it againโ is anyoneโs guess. Especially considering Danny Ocean ostensibly โdiedโ off-screen in Oceanโs 8, which also featured a cameo appearance from Qin.
Perhaps Danny and Rusty will state it simply wasnโt Frank or Saulโs fight onscreen, similar to how they handled Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jonesโ absence as Tess Ocean and Isabel Lahiri respectively in Oceanโs 13. Perhaps crew members from Oceanโs 8 will pop up for this one.
Release dates have obviously yet to be set for both Oceans 14 and the Oceanโs 11 prequel (or Oceans) starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. In terms of the latter, pre-production reportedly kicked off at the end of June, so donโt expect anything until mid-to-late 2024; while the former may never actually materialise.
We watched and ranked the top 10 Ryan Gosling movies. Check it out now.
