Fans of the “Ocean’s Eleven” franchise already knew Warner Bros. and LuckyChap had a new prequel movie in the works, but now it’s coming into focus. And who will be behind the camera this go-around? No, it’s not Steven Soderbergh returning, but instead “Twisters” and “Minari” director Lee Isaac Chung.
Deadline reports that Chung is in talks to helm the long-gestating “Ocean’s” prequel, although the project remains in early development. That means no cast list, no shooting date, no locked-in theatrical release: only that Carrie Solomon pens the current iteration of the screenplay, and it’s based on characters created by George Clayton Johnson & Jack Golden Russell, who wrote the 1960 original film.
But back to Chung. The Korean director had the biggest commercial hit of his career last summer in “Twisters,” which pulled $372.2 million at the global box office. Criticially, “Minari” is his strongest effort. That film won the Grand Jury and Audience awards at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and also won at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards, along with six Oscar nods, including a Best Supporting Actress win for Youn Yuh-jung. Other recent work for Chung includes directing episodes of the “Star Wars” series “The Mandalorian” and “Skeleton Crew,” as well as the upcoming adaptation of Joseph Eckert‘s sci-fi novel, “Traveler.”
Does all of that make Chung an ideal candidate to helm a new “Ocean’s” movie? It’s difficult to say. Soderbergh’s trio of movies is a hard act to follow, as Gary Ross‘ relatively anonymous take on the franchise in 2018’s “Ocean’s 8” demonstrated. But a 1960s-set prequel would be a soft reboot of sorts on the series, and allow Chung to reset audience expectations. Of course, without a cast and a plot outline, it’s impossible to know what Chung would be working with on this project, too. So for the time being, let’s wait and see how this project develops.
