Two New Ocean’s Films in the Works

I’ll be honest, I’m not sure why this annoys me so much, but it does. Apparently a fourth mainline Ocean’s film is in the works. And this isn’t even the only film in the series in active development as, first announced back in 2022, a prequel film is being developed featuring the parents of main character Daniel Ocean, as well. Two films in a film series that, if we’re being honest, really could have just stayed a single film, maybe two. That’s a lot of extra film for a series that, by all accounts, doesn’t need it.

I covered the various Ocean's SeriesAlthough the franchise began back in the days of the Rat Pack with the original Ocean's 11, the franchise truly gained prominence with the Clooney/Pitt-starring, Soderbergh-directed Ocean's reboot series from 2001. The daring criminals would go on to have several cool and stylish capers through the series, redefining the heist genre in the process. films a while ago, back when Asteroid G first restarted in 2018. The first film is still an absolute banger and I can go back and watch it again and again. It’s a slickly produced, finely edited, well executed caper flick sprinkled with great characters and a ton of humor. It’s amazing that it works as well as it does considering that it’s technically a remake of a very boring film, Ocean's 11, from the 1960s. It’s so good, in fact, that it’s essentially supplanted that previous film for everyone. We don’t have to qualify, “Ocean’s Eleven. You know, the good one,” because we all just know.

Fans of the first film certainly were pumped at the time for a sequel. While the first movie didn’t exactly end on a cliffhanger, there was a little tease that the goons of the man the Ocean’s gang robbed, Terry Benedict, were gonna follow them and try to get the money back. But when the sequel, Ocean's Twelve came out, it didn’t really feel like the film lived up to the promise of that tease. It was a blander, less interesting film that broke up the fun dynamics of the first movie, leading to a less enjoyable tale overall. The ending of that film is great, with a reveal that almost is able to sell the preceding film… but not quite. If the film series had ended with just Ocean’s Eleven (making it not a series at all) I don’t think anyone would have complained.

And then we got a third film, Ocean's Thirteen, which was fine. It was an improvement on the second film, but it felt pretty inessential. The chemistry wasn’t there quite like it was for the first film, and everything felt a little too soft, like the film series had lost its cool, slick vibe. Equally inessential was the all lady Ocean's 8, but not because of the all lady cast. I actually think there’s a thread of something fun in Ocean’s 8, a caper that almost works. The issue with that film is that it can’t equal the fun chemistry and slick vibes of the original. We will forever compare all the sequels to the first film because that movie was just so damn good.

I think that’s something key to really emphasize, too: that magic of the first film is hard to duplicate, which is what all the other films have to try and do. Ocean’s Eleven set a high bar that’s hard to match, but fans will expect the same kinds of witty banter, character dynamics, and fun caper action. Part of why Ocean’s Twelve fails is because it purposefully goes out of its way to destroy those dynamics. Yes, it’s for a twist that’s amazing once you get to it, but you have to spend over two acts of the film with a movie that is, essentially, the anti-Ocean’s Eleven. Meanwhile, Ocean’s Thirteen and Ocean’s 8 both simply feel like watered down retreads of the original. It’s trying to remake perfection, which you just can’t do.

Now we have two more films in development trying to do the same thing. Of the two announced films I think the (currently untitled) Ocean’s prequel has the better shot at being interesting. A film set in the 1960s (which, amusingly, would set it around the original Ocean’s 11 era) that can create its own characters, play in its own setting, be its own thing, that might just work well. It has Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie (both of Barbie fame) tentatively attached, with Robbie also producing it from her company. The only problem here is that the film was announced back in 2022 with a 2023 production start date but that then had to get pushed back because both stars had other filming commitments. We’re now in 2025 and there’s still no announced production date, so this whole thing might have fallen apart.

Meanwhile, the more recently announced Ocean’s Fourteen (tentative title) apparently had a script along with stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt attached. Other players from the series are expected to join as well, and director David Leitch (John Wick, Bullet Train, The Fall Guy) signed on to direct. With this legacy sequel, we have other considerations to think about. For one, can this film recapture the magic of the original. It has at least two of the main cast on board (the lack of which is part of what sank Ocean’s 8 with audiences), and a script built at least on an idea from original creator Steven Soderberg, so that’s points in its favor.

With that said, while Soderberg has consulted on the start of the film he is not directing and, certainly, it’s been his vision for the series that has made the good films as good as they could be. That’s not a knock against Leitch, as he’s a great director in his own right. I’m not sure if he’s the right fit for this series, since his films have a very different (albeit still interesting) vibe to them. That slick, glossy, Vegas vibe that permeated the first film comes in part from Soderberg’s vision. I’m not saying Leitch couldn’t replicate it or find a slick vision that works for his film, but when we look at Ocean’s 8 and how that film’s director, Gary Ross, tried and failed to replicate the vibe of Soderberg’s films, it’s clearly not as easy as anyone might think.

Let’s also acknowledge that two of the members of the main cast, Bernie Mac and Carl Reiner, are no longer with us. While it’s not impossible to cast around these two and find other players to bring in new characters to fill the gap in the “Fourteen” total members for the crew, part of the reason why Soderberg didn’t make a direct sequel to the third film was Bernie Mac’s death. He said he felt like the series shouldn’t continue if the whole crew couldn’t be part of it. That’s respectable, and he has essentially stuck to his guns, only providing ideas on what potential continuations could be without coming back to make them himself. Any film that comes after now does have to work with the fact that not everyone will be here and is that a good idea?

In fairness, Ocean’s 8 dodged around that by putting together an all new, all ladies crew so the absence of Bernie Mac at the time wasn’t felt. A prequel would also avoid that as well, since we don’t have to worry about any returning members at all. But a true sequel, a proper Ocean’s Fourteen, would feel like it goes against Soderberg’s wishes. It would feel weird to have the films go on without everyone around. It just wouldn’t seem right.

End of the day, though, I think the biggest issue with either of these upcoming projects is what plagued all the sequels: did we really need these adventures. The first film was the perfect story, a slick caper that blended all its elements (cast, characters, story, action) perfectly. Nothing we’ve gotten since, no matter how game all the cast and crew were, has been able to recapture that magic. Every film since the first has felt less essential than the original title. I get the impulse to make another Ocean’s movie, to try and recapture the magic and get a big, crowd-pleasing caper on the big screen, but it doesn’t feel like we’ll ever get one that can do what the first one did as well as it did. And if we can’t do that, what’s even the point?