Hollywood is getting ready for a new chapter in the popular Ocean’s heist series. Reports say that Bradley Cooper is in talks to write, direct, and star in the long-awaited Ocean’s Eleven prequel, with Margot Robbie as the lead. The project is a big change for the stylish caper series that starred George Clooney and Brad Pitt. It will take fans back to Europe in the 1960s for an origin story about the Ocean family’s criminal empire.
The new movie is said to be a original story within the Ocean’s universe, not a direct remake of the 2001 movie. Warner Bros. and Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment will make it. It will have the same glamor and complicated plots that made Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve, and Ocean’s Thirteen huge box office hits, bringing in more than $1.4 billion worldwide across the main trilogy.
Early reports say that Cooper and Robbie might play Danny Ocean’s parents, a role made famous by Clooney. This would give the prequel a new generational angle while still keeping the series’ signature heist-comedy tone.
Warner Bros. is now looking at Cooper as the best choice to write, direct, and star in the prequel, which is still on track for a possible 2026 shoot. This is because Lee Isaac Chung (Minari, Twisters) left the project because of creative differences. Cooper is an Oscar-nominated director for Maestro and a popular box office draw. He has a lot of experience with both strong character work and the slick, ensemble-driven action that the Ocean’s brand needs.
Cooper will work with Margot Robbie again. She has been working on the prequel idea since 2022 and will also produce it through LuckyChap. After the huge success of Barbie, where Robbie co-produced and starred with Ryan Gosling, who was also briefly attached to this Ocean’s project before the current change.
There are rumors that George Clooney and most of the original cast want to make a new sequel, Ocean’s Fourteen, by the end of 2026. This will keep the franchise alive across many timelines. With the 2018 all-female spin-off Ocean’s 8 making almost $300 million, Warner Bros. is clearly betting on expanding its legacy IP through both sequels and prequels.
Fans will get to see a expanded Ocean’s universe that goes from the 1960s origins to modern-day heists, with Bradley Cooper and Margot Robbie now at the center of one of the most anticipated heist movies in years. If everything goes according to plan, the Ocean’s Eleven prequel could be one of the biggest Hollywood event releases of 2026–2027.
