Ocean’s 14 looks closer to happening than ever before, but George Clooney’s tease confirms a major franchise lie. George Clooney headlined Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s movie franchise during the 2000s alongside Brad Pitt and Matt Damon. His days of playing conman and thief Danny Ocean seemed to reach an end by the time Ocean’s Thirteen came out in 2007. The movie served as a natural endpoint to the franchise, and everyone from Soderbergh to Pitt has spent the years since discussing the unlikelihood that Danny, Rusty, Linus, and the rest of the gang would reunite for a sequel.
In the absence of Ocean’s 14, Warner Bros. worked to find a different way for the franchise to continue, leading to the announcement of an all-female spinoff, Ocean’s 8. The movie starring Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett, among others, came out in 2018 and appeared to be a successful relaunch. The film included key connections to the previous trilogy, such as Elliott Gould returning as Reuben, and introducing Danny’s younger sister, Debbie, played by Bullock. Now that George Clooney is teasing his return for Ocean’s 14, a lie from the last installment is seemingly confirmed.
Ocean’s 14 Happening Means Ocean’s 8 Lied About Danny’s Death
One of the more surprising aspects of Ocean’s 8‘s connections to the previous movies was the revelation that Danny Ocean died. Early on in the movie, Debbie is released from prison and pays a visit to her brother’s tombstone, which is where Reuben’s cameo comes. The detail confirmed that Danny died in 2018 at the age of 55. However, there were understandably doubts from viewers, and even Debbie, that Danny was really dead. She says, “You better be in there,” when looking at his tombstone, and the final line of Ocean’s 8‘s ending is her telling Danny’s tombstone, “You would’ve loved it,” referencing her heist.
Ocean’s 8 very much acts as though Danny Ocean really is dead, but that simply cannot be true if George Clooney is returning for Ocean’s 14. Danny must be alive in Clooney is coming back to the role. While there is a chance that Ocean’s 14 could set before 2018 and end with Danny’s death, that boxes Soderbergh into telling a specific story with a pre-determined ending for its lead. It is for that reason that it would make more sense for Ocean’s 14 to take place after Ocean’s 8. In that scenario, the movie’s mere existence confirms that Danny Ocean is still alive.
How Ocean’s 14 Can Make Sense Of Ocean’s 8 Teasing Danny Died
Ocean’s 14 revealing that George Clooney’s Danny did not die can happen without too much trouble in theory. From the time that Ocean’s 8 teased his demise, speculation began that he was still alive and that Danny faked his death as part of some scheme. Although Ocean’s 8 makes it seem as though he really is dead, it is possible that only a handful of people knew about his true plan. Danny could have had to remain in hiding for a certain amount of time to get the desired outcome he wanted. Ocean’s 14 can use his fake death as another reminder of Danny’s excellent planning abilities.
