These days, franchise film making is more important than ever before. Whether we're talking about sequels, reboots or remakes, the vast majority of movies that we see on the big screen are things that we've seen before. Even the George Clooney-led Ocean's 11 franchise (which was itself a remake) saw a spinoff in the form of the recent Ocean's Eight. But don't expect that to lead to another movie in the main franchise, because Brad Pitt's really not interested.
The Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood actor recently made an appearance at the National Board of Review, and in response a question about his goals in life, said that one of them is to never need to make Ocean's 14...
My goals in life are pretty simple right now. Be happy, stay healthy and not get into a financial situation where I have to do Oceans 14. We’ll see.
In 2001 George Clooney put together an all-star cast including Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, and more to remake the Rat Pack cult classic Ocean's 11. While the original film never went beyond a single entry, the remake was popular enough to spawn a pair of sequels, Oceans 12 and Ocean's 13. It's been more than ten years since the last film, and so nobody was likely really looking for another entry, but if one of the key actors is closing the door, it makes such a thing very unlikely.
Of course, Brad Pitt isn't necessarily picking on this particular franchise. He's using it as a stand-in for the entire idea of making a movie simply because he needs the money. If we actually did get another Ocean's movie right now starring Pitt, there would be a question as to why, and the pay day would certainly be one of the potential reasons.
We've certainly seen cases of actors agreeing to make movies they might not otherwise have done because their financial situation required it. There are some actors, who won't be picked on here, who have certainly been accused of such.
Luckily, barring some really bad investments or some other mismanagement, it seems highly unlikely that Brad Pitt will find himself in such a situation. He just won a Golden Globe for his role in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood, which could potentially lead to an Oscar nomination.
That will help keep Pitt's film salary in a comfortable place, even if he could probably make more if he did make Ocean's 14. He's still one of the top stars in Hollywood and while he's implied that recently he might want to spend more time doing other things, as his buddy George Clooney has been doing these days, acting is the sort of job you can easily do part time, especially when you're in a position like the one Pitt is currently in.
Still, there are probably some people, at the very least studio execs, who wouldn't mind seeing Oceans 14.
