Ryan Gosling Reuniting With Margot Robbie For The ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ Prequel

One of the more perplexing yet, exciting projects on the horizon is a live-action film based on the iconic Mattel doll, “Barbie.” The film hails from “Little Women” director Greta Gerwig with a script co-written by herself and Noah Baumbach (“Marriage Story”). It also has an impressive cast led by Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. And Warner Bros. is apparently looking to bring those two back together for yet another high-profile movie in early development. 

In their latest newsletter, Puck News reveals that the studio aims to have Robbie and Gosling reunite for an “Ocean’s Eleven” prequel as the actor has accepted an undisclosed leading role (though the deal has apparently not officially closed yet). A project announced in May, this 1960s-set ‘Ocean’s prequel would see Jay Roach direct, a filmmaker who previously worked with Robbie on the acclaimed Fox News sexual harassment film “Bombshell.”

READ MORE: Margot Robbie, Jay Roach To Join Forces For An ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ Prequel

Also, the budget is expected to be much bigger than the previous four films (a number isn’t mentioned), which would make sense given the ’60s setting would automatically make it a more expensive production. Roach isn’t a stranger to period projects as he directed the “Austin Powers” films.

It’s unclear what legacy characters, if any, from the previous films could be explored. Still, some folks that could potentially appear, given their age, might be younger versions of Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), Saul Bloom (Carl Reiner), and even Albert Finney’s super-thief Gaspar LeMarque. LeMarque’s heists are seen as legendary and certainly a character that could be active in the 1960s. 

Meanwhile, we have lots of little previously-not-reported tidbits on the backstory of this one’s development, according to sources close to the project(s).

Sadly, director Steven Soderbergh was never consulted, but that’s likely because he told Warner Bros. ages ago that he was just done with this franchise (despite Don Cheadle saying earlier this year there might be some talk of another installment). It’s very possible WB just knew Soderbergh was a non-starter (for what it’s worth, “Ocean’s 8” director Gary Ross wasn’t asked to be part of it either). What is interesting: George Clooney and his longtime producing partner at Smokehouse Pictures, Grant Heslov, were once working on an idea for an ‘Ocean’s’ prequel, but it seems like Roach beat them to it. It’s unclear how far they got, but this new version probably renders their idea moot regardless.

Exclusive: All-Female’ Ocean’s Eleven’ In The Works Starring Sandra Bullock, With Gary Ross Directing

There’s also a fun and ironic wrinkle to the casting of this new one that doubles back on the last one. Back when director Gary Ross was first conceiving of his “Ocean’s 8” movie (remember, we broke that story back in the day), his leads were going to be Margot Robbie and his “Hunger Games” actress Jennifer Lawrence. This could have led to a younger generation franchise that went beyond one film; however, if he waited for both of them to be free schedule-wise, he’d have to delay the shoot for over a year. Ross ultimately didn’t want to wait, so he went instead with Cate Blanchett and Sandra Bullock as the new “Danny and Rusty” co-leads. Speaking of, “Ocean’s 8” had a lot of talk of early cameos with Matt Damon and George Clooney‘s characters, but both eventually fell through.

It’s unclear when this one will shoot, but if WB wants Gosling and Robbie back together, they undoubtedly like what they have seen from “Barbie” so far. – Additional reporting by Rodrigo Perez.