Deadline is hearing that there’s early “momentum” ‘Ocean’s 14’ will be happening. Sources say that George Clooney and Brad Pitt are coming back, and they want Edward Berger (“Conclave”) to direct.
Last year, Clooney had hinted that he’d be reuniting with Pitt and the boys for an all-new ‘Oceans’ movie.
We have a really good script for another Oceans now, so we may end up doing another one. It’s actually a great script […] The idea is kind of like [1979’s] “Going In Style”
Okay, so what about “Going in Style”? A highly amusing ‘70s comedy, directed by Martin Brest, and starring George Burns and Art Carney. Brest’s film tackled pair of successful bank robbers who begin to realize that age is catching up to them. That seems to be the blueprint for “Ocean’s 14.”
Steven Soderbergh’s “Oceans 11” was an old-school heist flick with some of the biggest actors in the business. It spawned sequels and spin-offs, but none of them could capture the slick entertainment of Soderbergh’s original.
Why isn’t Soderbergh coming back? Because he doesn’t want to. Simple as that. Earlier in the year, Soderbergh himself confirmed his exit from the franchise, claiming that the series has “been there and done that” and that there was nothing left for him to add.
Soderbergh directed the first three instalments. The most commercially successful, and the best, of the ‘Oceans’ films is the 2001 original. The first sequel, 2004’s “Ocean's Twelve,” was a hot meta mess, with the final film, 2007’s “Ocean's Thirteen,” going back to the more commercial formula of the original.
Berger is hot these days. He directed 2022’s Best Picture nominated “All Quiet on the Western Front and last week premiered “Conclave” at Telluride, which is destined to get some major Oscar love. Berger is also rumored to be the frontrunner to direct the next James Bond movie.
Remember when, back in August, we learned “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth” would be playing in only around 350 U.S. theaters, "maybe fewer"? Well, it's fewer. A lot fewer.