An Ocean’s prequel is reportedly in the works, and while we don’t know much about it, we do know that Margot Robbie is working with director Jay Roach on the story. The original Ocean’s 11 movie, which starred the Rat Pack members Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop, was released in the 1960s, and what is known about the Robbie/Roach venture is that it will be set in the ’60s, so we could, in theory, see that version of Danny Ocean’s world brought back to life.
But now we’re also getting rumors of more cast members potentially joining the film. According to Empire Online, Robbie’s Barbie co-star (the Ken to her Barbie, if you will) is in talks to be joining the project. Ryan Gosling, who is playing one of the Kens in the Greta Gerwig Barbie film, may be joining Ocean’s as well, and now my interest is definitely piqued—mainly because any movie with Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling is a good movie, but put them together and it’s going to have me in a theater opening night.
The story of Danny Ocean and his crew is one that was remade in 2001 by Steven Soderbergh, with George Clooney as Danny and a crew made up of some of the biggest stars at the time (and still today), much like the original brought the Rat Pack together onscreen. So, having Gosling and Robbie attached would, in theory, do the same thing here, even though this might not be about Danny Ocean himself this time around. The rumored name is Ocean’s, so that would make it potentially about just the family as a whole, and what a new way to learn about the family that loves to steal from the rich.
The appeal of Danny Ocean and the Ocean family
There’s a reason we keep coming back to the Ocean family. In the 2018 movie Ocean’s 8, we got to meet Debbie Ocean (Danny’s sister), and we explored his family further, and we keep coming back to this family because they’re just so good at what they do—meaning robbing casinos of their money or robbing the Met Gala, but it has the same comforting quality of movies like Zodiac in that they’re people who are just good at what they do (regardless of how ethical it is).
So, going back to the ’60s is fun because while it might not be another remake, it will be something about the world of the Oceans (given, well, the name) in the time period of the original movie, and that is fascinating to me. Until we know anything else about this movie, I just want little nods like this to what it could be. I love that Ryan Gosling might be joining Margot Robbie in it, and I would love if they were Danny and Debbie’s parents or something like that. I just want to learn more about this family that apparently is all very good at stealing things and putting teams together, because I love them.
(featured image: Gareth Cattermole/Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)
