Bradley Cooper’s Ocean’s Eleven prequel is on track as a new cast member has just been announced.
The Ocean’s franchise is far from done with high-stakes heists, with two films already in the works. On one hand, the anticipated return of the iconic crew (with the usual star-studded lineup) is briefly dubbed Ocean’s Fourteen, and on the other, the more intriguing untitled Ocean’s Eleven prequel. It’s this second project generating the most chatter lately. We already know Cooper will wear multiple hats—director, writer, and star.
Now things are speeding up, and the cast is starting to take shape. Cooper will be in front of and behind the camera, joined at the helm by Margot Robbie as the lead, with Wagner Moura (Civil War, O Espião) and Monica Barbaro (Un parfait inconnu, Top Gun: Maverick) recently added to the crew of crafty thieves. And she’s not the only one stepping into the fray, because a new actor has just been announced.
Ocean’s eleven filled with stars
Variety broke the news: Josh Gad has joined the cast of the Ocean’s Eleven prequel. If he first came to fame in Love, and Other Drugs (2010), the public knows him best for family-friendly roles like the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast or lending his voice to Olaf in Frozen. He’s also appeared in Murder on the Orient Express (Kenneth Branagh’s take) and shined in the horror-comedy Little Monsters (2019).
According to rumors shared by Variety, Gad is slated for a fairly substantial role, though the specific part remains under wraps for now. If the intel holds, he may portray Reuben, a character played by Elliott Gould in the original trilogy. Reuben is a casino magnate who knows Las Vegas inside out. In the first film, he funds Danny Ocean’s elaborate plan to settle scores with hotel owner Terry Benedict.
For now, the glimpses of the plot released so far leave the door wide open to all possibilities. We should follow the generation before Clooney and Bullock, their parents, as they attempt a heist during Monaco’s 1962 Grand Prix. Beyond the casting, World of Reel also noted that the director of photography may have undergone a change.
A priori, Linus Sandgren (Oscar winner for La La Land, and behind Mourir peut attendre, First Man, Don’t Look Up and upcoming Dune 3) had apparently been replaced by Ben Davis (The Banshees of Inisherin but also a slew of Marvel titles—from Eternals to Avengers films, Captain Marvel, and Kraven the Hunter). This would be one more shakeup after the departures of directors Jay Roach (Austin Powers, My Mother’s Boyfriend) and Lee Isaac Chung (Minari, Twisters) that paved the way for Cooper’s arrival.
The Ocean’s Eleven prequel is scheduled to roll into French theaters on June 23, 2027, assuming everything goes smoothly and the project keeps to its planned course.
