Academy Award-winning filmmaker Edward Berger (“All Quiet On The Western Front”) has put an end to speculation that he was preparing to direct “Ocean’s 14,” saying that while the idea was floated, it was never really his movie to make.
Last fall, The Playlist reported that George Clooney and Brad Pitt were eyeing the “All Quiet on the Western Front” filmmaker to take on the heist franchise’s long-rumored next installment. The talk sounded serious, with Clooney and Pitt leading the charge to land him. But according to Berger, the chatter was premature.
“Deep down inside, I knew it’s not my movie, it’s Steven Soderbergh’s movie,” Berger said in an interview with Deadline this week. “He invented that, beautifully. He made them, and I’m just following in his footsteps. What is new for me? I love those movies, but in essence, I don’t know what to add to what the great Steven Soderbergh did.”
The director admitted he was briefly tempted by the prospect, before realizing overnight that he wasn’t the right fit. “I went to bed, slept eight hours, and realized, it’s not me,” Berger explained. “I called Brad [Pitt] because we had talked a bunch of times. I knew he was open to doing something, and I basically said, I’m sorry, I don’t want to do ‘Ocean’s’ and hope I haven’t offended you. But I have this great script that I would love you to look at because I think it might be a challenge for both of us. He read it in two days and called back and said, I want to do it. It’s the best script I’ve ever read.”
That project is “The Riders,” now set up at A24 with Pitt attached to star and production slated for 2026. Berger’s decision underscores a rare instance of a filmmaker turning down a high-profile studio franchise out of respect for its original creative voice.
The hesitation is understandable. Steven Soderbergh has been the creative spine of the “Ocean’s” series from the beginning, directing the trilogy of Clooney-led heist films and establishing the slick, playful tone that made them stand out. After “Ocean’s 13” in 2007, Soderbergh made clear he was finished with the franchise, saying he’d already explored everything he wanted to do with it. Plus, three key members of the “Ocean’s” franchise have passed on: Bernie Mack, Carl Reiner and producer Jerry Weintraub, who put the whole band together in the first place.
Warner Bros. attempted to extend the brand without him with “Ocean’s 8” in 2018, but while the all-female spinoff earned at the box office, it didn’t fully reignite the franchise.
With Clooney and Pitt eager to mount a return, “Ocean’s 14” looked like a chance to recapture some of that original magic. But Berger’s withdrawal leaves the project’s future uncertain, with the series still searching for a new filmmaker who can credibly follow in Soderbergh’s footsteps without simply repeating his moves.
“I don’t know what to add to what the great Steven Soderbergh did,” Berger said. And with that, “Ocean’s 14” will have to move forward, if at all, without him.
Rodrigo Perez is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Playlist, which he launched in 2007. He has worked in entertainment journalism since 2000, including at MTV, and has written for SPIN, IndieWire, Pitchfork, Complex, Magnet, and various music, film, and entertainment publications over the past two decades.
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