Josh Gad is the latest to join Margot Robbie and Bradley Cooper’s crew for Warner Bros.’ upcoming Ocean’s Eleven prequel, a source tells Variety.
Sources say Gad has been cast in a key role in the period heist film, joining an all-star ensemble led by Robbie and director and co-star Cooper. Casting is progressing smoothly for the production of the movie. Reps for Gad and Warner Bros. Pictures did not immediately respond to Variety’s requests for comment.
Since the original 1960 film Ocean’s Eleven, starring Rat Pack members Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford and Dean Martin, this high-end heist film franchise has attracted A-list and award-winning talent. Warner’s latest film is no exception, with Oscar nominee Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent) set to play the villain, and Monica Barbaro (The Completely Unknown) also joining the cast.
Gad adds the “Ocean’s” prequel to a schedule that includes Paramount Pictures’ highly anticipated “Space Balls: The New One,” sequels to the animated series “Angry Birds” and “Frozen,” and the feature film “Oh the Place You Will Go,” starring Ariana Grande. He recently re-signed an overall television contract with 20th Century Television.
Details about the “Ocean’s” prequel film have been sparse, but Robbie acknowledged a few key points at the studio’s CinemaCon presentation this spring.
“Before Danny Ocean set foot in Las Vegas, two masterminds taught him everything he knew: his parents,” Robbie teased, referring to the masterminds and con artists of the Las Vegas casino scandal in Ocean’s Eleven. “In our new film, we see them in their prime as they pull off an epic heist at the 1962 Monaco Grand Prix.”
Further plot details are “locked in a vault,” but Cooper wrote the screenplay and is directing the film, which will be released on June 25, 2027. He is also producing the project in association with LuckyChap, which is headed by Tom Ackerley, Georgie McNamara, Milan Popelka and Robbie.
Executive producers for the Oceans prequel include McNamara, Bronte Payne, Bobby Wilhelm, Jay Roach, Michelle Graham, Lee Isaac Chung, Ashley Jay Sandberg, Gary Ross and Olivia Milch. The untitled film is based on the character created by George Clayton Johnson and Jack Golden Russell. Carey Solomon worked on an earlier draft of the script.
The “Ocean’s 11” trilogy, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, and Julia Roberts, and the reboot “Ocean’s 8,” starring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, and Rihanna, have grossed more than $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office.
Gad is repped by WME, Range Media Partners, PJ Shapiro and imPRint.
