Warner Bros. has made its near-term choice for the Ocean's Eleven franchise: a prequel starring Bradley Cooper and Margot Robbie. Cooper is treating it as his next major film, and he is putting pressure on himself to make it land.
That matters because Cooper is being searched now as the face of the studio’s latest move in a franchise that has not sat still for long. The prequel is being positioned as the direction Warner Bros. wants to take first, with Cooper and Robbie attached at the center of it.
The focus on the prequel also tells the story of what Warner Bros. passed over. George Clooney and Brad Pitt had shown interest in another sequel, but the studio chose to move ahead with the earlier-set film instead. That leaves the older ensemble project on the shelf for now, even as the franchise’s biggest names remain in the mix.
Clooney has said he plans to play a long game with the franchise, and that may prove to be the real pressure point for Warner Bros. If the prequel does not connect, Clooney, Pitt and the rest of the ensemble would be ready to return. For now, though, the studio has drawn its line: the next push belongs to Cooper, and he knows the movie has to carry the weight of being the franchise’s next major step.
