In 2001, a remake of the 1960s Rat Pack picture Ocean’s Eleven from director Steven Soderbergh hit the big screen and dazzled audiences everywhere. With an all-star lineup of Hollywood’s finest leading men, the film’s classic action combined with the smooth sophistication of its Rat Pack roots earned it two (admittedly less-than-thrilling) sequels in the years that followed. Regardless, the 2001 reboot carved out a place for itself in history, and has inspired an all-new reboot titled Ocean’s Eight.
The film, which director Gary Ross says will stay true to Soderbergh’s image (Soderbergh is sitting in the executive producer’s chair for this film), is set with an all-star cast of women from all areas of Hollywood, including Sandra Bullock as the film’s charismatic lead. Now, award-winning TV star Sarah Paulson may make her way back to the big screen as part of the team.
Currently on her way to a possible Emmy for her performance in The People VS. O.J. Simpson, Paulson is reportedly in talks to join the cast of Ocean’s Eight, according to Deadline. The film is also set to star a mixture of comedians, dramatic actresses, and musicians, including Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, Mindy Kaling and rapper Awkwafina (a.k.a. Nora Lum). Ross co-wrote the script with Olivia Milch, which reportedly revolves around a story about a major heist at the annual New York Met Gala.
Little else is known about the plot or the capacity of the role any of the actresses play, including Paulson, who hasn’t officially signed on to the film just yet. Paulson has a pretty busy year ahead of her, which makes the deliberation understandable: Her next film, Blue Jay (in which she stars opposite Mark Duplass) releases in October, and she’s officially signed on to join Ryan Murphy’s next anthology series for FX, Feud.
Ross says that Ocean’s Eight is a film “20 years in the making” thanks to his long-time collaborative partnership with Soderbergh, who has assisted on as many of Ross’ films, and vice versa. For Ross, taking up the reins of Soderbergh’s Ocean’s franchise is not something he’ll take lightly, and in an age where all-woman casts in reboots are judged with heavy scrutiny, there’s a lot of people waiting for the film to prove them wrong. The diversely mixed range of talent that the cast currently boasts is already impressive, so having the talented Paulson on board in any capacity might only serve to improve those chances.
There is no official start date or release date for Ocean’s Eight, but stay tuned here for more information.
