Margot Robbie developing Ocean’s Eleven prequel with Bombshell director Jay Roach
Robbie's entry to the heist series will be set in the 1960s
What if they remade Ocean’s Eleven, except this time a woman led the heist? And then what if they remade that movie, and instead of Sandra Bullock, it was led by Margot Robbie? We may soon have the answers to this pressing inquiry, as The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Robbie is developing a new Oceans film with her Bombshell collaborator Jay Roach.
According to THR, few details are known about the script (written by Carrie Solomon), “but it is known to be an original Ocean’s Eleven that is set in Europe in the 1960s,” otherwise known as the era that gave us the original, Rat Pack version of Ocean’s.
Assuming this new entry is set in the same continuity as Steven Soderbergh’s trilogy and Ocean’s Eight, perhaps Robbie will play the matriarch of the crime family that spawned Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his sister Debbie (Bullock)? An Oceans movie without an Ocean is just a heist film, after all.
The project hasn’t yet been greenlit, but THR sources claimed “the goal is to begin production spring 2023.” Robbie and her husband Tom Ackerley will produce through their company LuckyChap alongside Roach and Michelle Graham for Everyman Pictures. Gary Ross, Olivia Milch and Lucky Chap’s Josey McNamara are also set to executive produce. Per THR, “Village Roadshow is also involved in an exec producer capacity and may also co-finance.”
Jay Roach has previous experience with tentpole series, helming the Austin Powers movies as well as the first two Meet The Parents movies. He later directed Robbie to a Best Supporting Actress nomination for the 2019 political flick Bombshell.
Meanwhile, getting Oceans under her belt is the latest in Robbie’s quest to own every major franchise under the sun. She’s the (arguably only) consistent highlight of the DC Universe as Harley Quinn, developing a Pirates Of The Caribbean spin-off, and even has her paws in Peter Rabbit–to say nothing of the upcoming Barbie extravaganza. But few actors working today have the mega-voltage star power of Margot Robbie, so it’s no surprise to see she’s being handed the keys and given free rein of another major property.