All-star cast ensembles are getting more and more common in Hollywood, but arguably the OG all-star film is Ocean’s Eleven. It’s been a whopping 20 years since Brad Pitt, George Clooney and their merry band of A-listers came together to rob Las Vegas casinos. There’s been two sequels and an all-female adaptation since, but there apparently was also talks about an Ocean’s 14 that didn’t quite make it. Don Cheadle has now revealed just what kept the film from moving forward and what it would take to get the ball rolling on another Ocean’s film.
Ahead of the release of his and the Ocean’s franchise’s director Steven Soderbergh’s new film No Sudden Move, Don Cheadle revealed that he and Soderbergh were talking about Ocean’s 14 years ago, and the idea may have resurfaced. Cheadle says the passing of Bernie Mac, who appeared in all three of the Ocean’s films, is what quickly shut down talks of a 4th film the first time around, but Soderbergh thinks he has found a way to make Ocean’s 14 happen after all these years later. Here it is in the Iron Man star’s own words to Entertainment Weekly:
We were talking about it, and then Bernie passed, and very quickly we were like, 'No, we don't want to do it.' But I just did a movie with Stephen and he said, 'I think there may be a way to do it again. I'm thinking about it.' And it didn't go much further than that. But I don't know; I don't know who all would be in it. I imagine the main group of us would be in. It would be interesting to see.
By the sound of it, we have all the details that Don Cheadle does, and Steven Soderbergh is keeping it all locked in his head for now. Maybe living in a time full of classic reboots is what has the director feeling reminiscent and wanting to get the gang back together again. Honestly, the glimmer of hope that Cheadle just gave for an Ocean’s 14 is good enough for me.
Don Cheadle, even though he doesn’t know much, doesn’t seem against the idea at all. He definitely includes himself in the “us” when speaking about who would return in a 4th film. Bringing back as many original faces as possible would, of course, be the goal. While we obviously won’t be able to see Bernie Mac or Carl Reiner in another sequel, (at least, without the help of some wild technology), it’s very possible the rest of the gang will be down. The team famously had a lot of fun together; Brad Pitt and George Clooney remain pretty tight and I could definitely see them on board with working together again. However, Pitt may be hard to convince to go back to the Ocean’s franchise.
I’m not sure how Steven Soderbergh is going to top robbing three casinos at once, but he’s certainly had enough time to try. Soderbergh and Don Cheadle’s film No Sudden Move comes out on HBO Max tomorrow, and if it’s half as exciting as an Ocean’s 14, it’s certainly worth a watch.
