‘Ocean’s Eleven’ Spinoff Title Confirmed, Gary Ross Promises ‘Similar Tone’ to Soderbergh’s Trilogy

When Cate Blanchett was initially rumored for the Ocean’s Eleven spinoff, so too was the film’s working title: Ocean’s Ocho, which refers to the number of characters in the ensemble for Gary Ross’ female-fronted heist project. Ross himself has now officially confirmed the title for the film, which he’s been developing with original Ocean’s trilogy director Steven Soderbergh for some time now. And if you’re wondering just how similar Ross’ film will be to its predecessors, the answer is “pretty similar.”

While promoting his new Civil War drama Free State of Jones, Ross spoke with Slashfilm and confirmed the title of his Ocean’s spinoff, which is officially called Ocean’s Eight. The project is set to star Sandra Bullock (as the sister of George Clooney’s Danny Ocean), Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Helena Bonham Carter and Elizabeth Banks, and follows a recently released convict who plots a revenge-based heist with the help of a skilled crew — very similar to Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Eleven.

Ross spoke about his long working relationship with Soderbergh and promised that his Ocean’s movie will be tonally in keeping with his friend’s trilogy:

I think it’s a pretty similar tone. You know, Steven Soderbergh and I are incredibly close friends, and we would not have done this if we weren’t. I don’t think he would’ve wanted anyone to do it if we weren’t. This is very much an extension and a continuation. He’s a producer on the movie. In one way or another, this has been a 20-year conversation between Steven and I, collaborating in ways the whole world doesn’t know about: I helped him on the previous Ocean’s Eleven films; he shot second unit on The Hunger Games; I’ve done ADR lines for him; and he reads all my scripts. It’s a very long, ongoing collaboration. This, I think, is a very seamless process.

The director went on to say that he’s “in no way trying to reinvent the tone” with Ocean’s Eight, which he views as an extension of Soderbergh’s trilogy. The female-fronted project doesn’t yet have a release date, though Ross is reportedly gearing up for a fall production start.