So, not only is “Ocean’s 14” happening, but it’s set to start shooting next year, according to George Clooney.
While promoting “Jay Kelly” at the New York Film Festival, Clooney was asked by E! News about the next Ocean’s Eleven installment. This time, instead of vague teases, he made it sound like it’s definitely happening:
We just got the budget approved at Warner Brothers, and we're trying to set up -- it's just scheduling, so it's just setting a start date for us. Probably start in about nine or ten months, shooting.
An approved budget and a filming timeline basically seal it — this film is happening.
Clooney also hinted at a reunion with his longtime co-stars. When asked specifically about Brad Pitt, he couldn’t help but name-check the potential cast for “Ocean’s 14.”
Yeah, Brad [Pitt], Matt [Damon] and Don [Cheadle] and Julia [Roberts]. I had dinner last night with Julia. They're all still really dear friends. And so, the chance to work together would be fun.
Now, the big question: who will direct it? Steven Soderbergh keeps saying he doesn’t want to, claiming that the series has “been there and done that” and that there’s nothing left for him to add to it.
Soderbergh directed the first three installments. The most commercially successful — and arguably the best — of the Ocean’s films is the 2001 original. The first sequel, 2004’s “Ocean’s Twelve,” was a hot meta mess, while the final film, 2007’s “Ocean’s Thirteen,” returned to the more commercial formula of the original.
There’s been a rumor circulating for months that David Leitch is in talks to direct the sequel. Leitch directed 2022’s “Bullet Train,” starring Pitt, and despite its disappointing box office, earned positive reviews for 2024’s “The Fall Guy.”
Leitch specializes in high-octane action and has built a successful career directing thrillers. In addition to “The Fall Guy,” the stunt coordinator–turned–filmmaker has helmed “John Wick,” “Atomic Blonde,” “Deadpool 2,” “Hobbs & Shaw,” and “Bullet Train.”
Clooney has hinted that the next Ocean’s film will take inspiration from 1979’s “Going In Style,” a highly amusing ’70s comedy directed by Martin Brest and starring George Burns and Art Carney. Brest’s film followed a pair of aging bank robbers coming to terms with getting older — and that seems to be the blueprint for “Ocean’s 14.”