As the long-awaited sequel nears a greenlight from Warner Bros., George Clooney offers an exciting, and deadly, Ocean’s 14 script update. Development on a fourth movie in the heist franchise was initially shelved following the death of original star Bernie Mac, though started gaining steam in late 2023 when he revealed that he had completed a script for it and was working to get everyone back. Ocean’s 14 took a major step forward when All Quiet on the Western Front‘s Edward Berger entered talks to direct and both Clooney and Brad Pitt were confirmed to be returning.
During a recent interview with E! at the red carpet premiere of their upcoming action comedy Wolfs, Clooney and Pitt were asked for an update on Ocean’s 14‘s progress. Clooney began by reaffirming the script was ready for the next movie, indicating that the next step for the project will be to secure deals for everyone to return to the fold:
George Clooney: We are [getting the band back together]. We have a really good script, and everybody’s read it and ready to do it, so we’re going to get to work.
In hearing Clooney’s confirmation that the script was ready, Pitt initially expressed surprise at learning this, only for his co-star to remind him he not only knew that, but has even read it. Pitt quickly acknowledged that he remembered having read the script, particularly when Clooney reminded him there was a death in the movie the two-time Oscar winner found humorous:
Brad Pitt
: We got it?George Clooney
: Yeah, we got it.Brad Pitt
: Oh yeah, I remember, that’s right.George Clooney: Remember, you actually liked it… ‘Cause we kill someone that you think is funny.
Brad Pitt
: Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s true, too.
What This Means For Ocean’s 14
This Will Be The First Time Life-Or-Death Stakes Are Involved
Clooney’s confirmation that there will be a character death in the next movie is sure to come as a surprise to longtime fans of the franchise, as it will mark the first time there has been any confirmed death in the Ocean’s series. That’s not to say there haven’t been some stakes in the first three movies, with Pitt’s Rusty nearly being blown up by Andy Garcia’s Terry Benedict after he tracked all of Ocean’s crew down. Ocean’s Thirteen nearly delivered the series’ first death with Elliott Gould’s Reuben suffering a heart attack after being double-crossed by Al Pacino’s Willy Bank, though recovers by the end.
As to who will actually die in Ocean’s 14, Clooney’s note that Pitt found it to be humorous could point to it being one of the franchise’s past villains, including Terry, given how he was a villainous figure across all three films. However, given both Mac and Carl Reiner have passed away in the years since Ocean’s Thirteen, it’s also entirely possible that Clooney found both a meaningful and comedic way to send off their characters to explain their absences in the long-awaited sequel.
Our Take On Ocean’s 14’s Character Death
Establishing Real Stakes Could Be A Great Way To Send The Franchise Off For Good
While the possibility of losing any of the franchise’s beloved characters is a sad thought, Ocean’s 14 killing off a character could actually be a good thing for the series. Given it’s been 17 years since Thirteen came out, the uncertainty of whether Danny and his crew would return has left me feeling wary about trusting the future of the franchise as a whole. This feeling was particularly strong when Ocean’s 8 created the mystery of whether Danny actually died, only for a sequel to never materialize to the female-led spinoff or original movies.
The spinoff did see the return of multiple previous
Ocean’s
characters, including Gould’s Reuben, Qin Shaobo’s “The Amazing” Yen, Reiner’s Saul Bloom and Matt Damon’s Linus Caldwell, though the latter two cameos were cut from the finished film.
Though Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling’s Ocean’s prequel is still in a stage of development, having Ocean’s 14 establish some real stakes for its ensemble cast of thieves could be the best way to send them off for good. It could prove to be the wake-up call they all need to leave their life of heists behind, pulling off one epic final job before retiring and enjoying quieter lives. This, in turn, could lead to a better focus on other characters in the universe rather than leave audiences wondering if they’ll see their favorite characters return.
Source: E!
Ocean’s
Based on the original 1960 film Ocean’s Eleven, The Ocean’s franchise reimagines and expands the classic heist film. The series centers on Danny Ocean and later his sister, Deborah Ocean, master thieves taught by their parents to pull off elaborate heists against the rich. Each film maintains the majority of the cast, as the Ocean siblings gather together teams of talented individuals who bring unique skills to each film’s extraordinary heist.
- Cast
- George Clooney , Brad Pitt , Matt Damon , Andy Garcia , Julia Roberts , Don Cheadle , Casey Affleck , Scott Caan , Elliott Gould , Bernie Mac , Eddie Jemison , Carl Reiner , Qin Shaobo , Sandra Bullock , Cate Blanchett , Helena Bonham Carter , Anne Hathaway , Rihanna
- Character(s)
- Danny Ocean , Rusty Ryan , Linus Caldwell , Terry Benedict , Tess Ocean , Basher Tarr , Virgil Malloy , Turk Malloy , Reuben Tishkoff , Livingston Dell , Saul Bloom , Yen (Ocean’s) , Deborah Ocean , Lou Miller , Rose Weil , Daphne Kluger , Nine Ball
