Margot Robbie to make Ocean’s Eleven prequel

Margot Robbie is set to make a new movie in a beloved franchise, taking the blockbuster series back to its groovy roots.

Margot Robbie is taking the Ocean’s Eleven franchise back to its roots.

The Australian superstar is slated to lead a new instalment in the popular heist movies, but this time it’s a prequel set in the 1960s in Europe. Jay Roach, with whom Robbie worked with on Bombshell, is attached to direct.

The movie is only in the development stage and is not yet officially greenlit, according to The Hollywood Reporter. If it goes ahead, filming is expected to start this time next year.

Robbie is said to be producing the movie through her company LuckyChap, from a script by Carrie Solomon.

Roach is best known for directing the Austin Powers trilogy as well as a pair of political TV movies (Recount and Game Change) for HBO.

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Margot Robbie is set to make a new Ocean’s Eleven movie. Picture: Matt Sayles/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images

Ocean’s Eleven was originally a 1960 caper starring members of the Rat Pack, including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr, centred on a story about a group of thieves plotting to rob a Las Vegas casino.

Director Steven Soderbergh rebooted the title in 2001 with an all-star cast including George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and Don Cheadle. Two sequels followed in 2004 and 2007, adding Catherine Zeta-Jones, Vincent Cassel, Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin to the franchise.

A spin-off called Ocean’s Eight was released in 2018 with a story anchored on Danny Ocean’s sister Debbie, played by Sandra Bullock. The movie involved a jewellery heist at the Met Gala and also starred Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling and Awkwafina.

George Clooney and Brad Pitt in Ocean’s Eleven.

There has also been talk that Soderbergh could be working on a sequel to his trilogy. In 2021, Cheadle and Damon separately hinted that Soderbergh has been mulling the idea.

Robbie’s planned prequel will be hoping to continue the box office success of the contemporary Ocean’s movies, which have a combined global total of $US1.4 billion.

Robbie has a raft of upcoming projects, including a 1930s-set historical murder mystery called Amsterdam, directed by David O. Russell. She stars alongside Christian Bale, John David Washington, Robert De Niro and Zoe Saldana.

Margot Robbie as Barbie, which is to be released in mid-2023.

She is also in Damien Chazelle’s epic Babylon, set in Golden Age Hollywood and in which she will portray legendary actor Clara Bow, and Wes Anderson’s rom-com Asteroid City.

Perhaps her most anticipated upcoming role is as Barbie, a rom-com based on the toyline. The movie is directed by Oscar nominated director Greta Gerwig from a script penned by her and Noah Baumbach.

The cast of Barbie includes Ryan Gosling as Ken, Simu Liu, Issa Rae, America Ferrera, Will Ferrell, Emerald Fennell, Ncuti Gatwa and Kate McKinnon.