It’s been a while since we heard that Sandra Bullock would be leading an all-female Ocean’s Eleven spinoff directed by Gary Ross (The Hunger Games, Seabiscuit), with not much else in the way of concrete news for the project. We know that George Clooney – who starred in the 2001 film and its sequels as suave gentleman crook Danny Ocean – and Steven Soderbergh – who directed all three Ocean’s movies – will be on-board as exec producers, with Clooney’s Danny perhaps showing up in the movie in some cameo form.
But what about the movie itself? What would it be about, how will it tie into the originals (well, second originals, since the Clooney movies was actually a remake of a Rat Pack classic) and who would be filling out the eclectic ensemble that helps pull off the jazzy capers the franchise has become famous for? Thanks to Showbizz411, we can now finally start answering some of those questions as they’ve confirmed recent reports that two-time Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett has signed on to co-lead the movie. It’s believed that Bullock and Blanchett’s characters will be the ringleaders here in the same respective way that Clooney’s Ocean and Brad Pitt’s fast-talking Rusty Ryan were in Ocean’s Eleven.
But what about the rest of the cast? Ocean’s Eleven also boasted the likes Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mack, Casey Affleck and more. Can this spinoff pull off the same kind of casting magic? It seems it damn well can, as it’s now also being reported that Helena Bonham Carter, Mindy Kaling and Elizabeth Banks are all on board. That’s certainly a hugely appealing bunch of talented and often hilarious ladies, with Carter, Kaling and Banks having shown time and again how incredible their comic timing and execution is.
And we should probably be expecting another three fabulous women to join that crew, as it’s been revealed that the production’s current working title is Ocean’s Ocho. To those of that are not multi-lingual, that’s the Spanish word for 8, which tells us the number of people in this group and also possibly where the film will be set. The previous films had travelled to Las Vegas, France, Italy and Monaco and a few other brief stops in Europe, but never Spain.
Unfortunately, we now also know that one of those other three vacant spots will probably not be filled by Jennifer Lawrence. The fan-favourite Oscar-winning actress was previously reported to be circling the production, but it looks like her busy working schedule is forcing her out of contention. Even without Lawrence on board though, this movie is certainly still quite appealing. I know that female-led reboots/remakes appears to be a huge Hollywood fad right now, and as such draws a lot of scorn from certain corners of the internet (Oh, hi there, Ghostbusters and your most disliked trailer in Youtube history!), but I’m of the opinion that if it’s good then you have nothing to be upset about. And at least on paper, this sure as hell has huge potential to be better than just good.
Now who else would you guys like to see fill out those other three spots? After owning just about every scene she’s in in the two Bad Neighbours films, I would really love to have Rose Byrne added to the mix here. Then there’s the likes of Jessica Chastain, Uzo Aduba, Anna Kendrick, Gina Rodriguez, Lupita Nyong’o, Rinko Kikuchi, Amy Schumer, Scarlett Johansson, Taraji P. Henson, and more, who would also all fit in quite well with this franchise. As long as they also include Helen Mirren, because who can say no to that beautiful distinguished 70-year old badass?
Last Updated: June 13, 2016
