Warner Bros. Is planning to stay in the Barbie and Ken business, with Barbie stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling rumored to be reuniting for the proposed Ocean’s Eleven prequel project. According to a new report courtesy of Puck News, Gosling is being courted to join Robbie in the Ocean’s prequel, a project that was announced by the studio earlier this year.
While nothing is official as yet, The Gray Man star Ryan Gosling is reportedly in talks to star alongside The Suicide Squad and The Wolf of Wall Street actress Margot Robbie in the Ocean’s Eleven prequel, which is set to be directed by Jay Roach. Roach is best known for helming the Austin Powers franchise, Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers, and the more recent Bombshell, which stars Margot Robbie alongside Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron.
As per the report, the plans is for the new Ocean’s outing to be a major tentpole project for Warner Bros., and will be part of their new strategy to create big-budget cinema releases as recently revealed by President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav.
While details of the Ocean’s Eleven prequel remain largely unknown, it has been claimed that the movie will take place in Europe in the 1960s, meaning that the likes of George Clooney and Brad Pitt will not be involved. Still, the idea of both Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as master thieves involved in a heist during the 60s is surely more than enough already.
Margot Robbie & Ryan Gosling Will First Demonstrate Their On-Screen Chemistry in Barbie
The Ocean’s franchise first began back in 2001, and features one of the most star-studded casts of all time as the likes of George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, Elliott Gould, Casey Affleck, Don Cheadle, Carl Reiner and more plan a heist of $160 million from a casino owner played by Andy García. A casino owner who just so happens to be dating Danny’s ex-wife, played by Julia Roberts.
The first outing for the gang was hugely well-received, with the series spawning several lesser sequels. The last audiences saw of the franchise was in the form of 2018's Ocean's 8, an all-female spinoff centering on the sister of Danny Ocean, played by Sandra Bullock. While reviews for Ocean’s 8 were broadly positive, it did not reignite the franchise as the studio had hoped. If a 60s-set prequel starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling can’t do that, then nothing can.
First, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling will demonstrate their on-screen chemistry in the upcoming Barbie movie. Directed by Greta Gerwig, Barbie finds Robbie as Barbie and Gosling as Ken, and while plot details for the Barbie movie currently remain under wraps, but it has been suggested that the movie will find Margot Robbie as a version of Barbie who no longer feels like she fits in.
Barbie is scheduled to be released in the United States on July 21, 2023, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The Ocean’s prequel has not officially been given the greenlight, but is aiming to start shooting in spring 2023.