Oscar nominee and Twisters director Lee Isaac Chung in talks for Ocean’s Eleven prequel

It’s been almost two years since we heard anything about the Ocean’s Eleven that was speculated to reunite Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.

It was starting to feel like maybe it wasn’t going to happen.

Thankfully, today comes the news from Deadline that Twisters helmer Lee Isaac Chung is in talks to direct, which puts the project back on the agenda.

Chung was nominated for two Oscars for his 2020 film Minari, a semi-autobiographical drama about a Korean immigrant family trying to make a go of life in rural America in the 1980s.

He then directed an episode each of two Star Wars shows, The Mandalorian and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, before turning his attention to Twisters, the Glen Powell-led adventure movie set in the same universe as the original 1996 film.

So, we know Chung has the versatility to go from a quiet and personal drama to a franchise hit, having previously cited Steven Spielberg and Amblin-type movies as a long-held creative ambition.

In that sense, Chung makes perfect sense for an Ocean’s prequel, as someone who can comfortably jump into an existing narrative universe with an established tone and style.

The Ocean’s prequel is being produced by Robbie’s LuckyChap company with Warner Bros set as the studio. Casting – and those rumours Robbie and Gosling would lead the story – has not been firmed but there is a script by Carrie Solomon (A Family Affair).

Jay Roach (Bombshell, upcoming comedy The Roses) had previously been linked as director for the project.

The first Ocean’s 11 movie premiered in 1960 as a star vehicle for Rat Packers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. The story followed a group of World War II veterans who plot to rob five Las Vegas casinos.

That film remained largely a goofy relic of a bygone era and associated with a specific cultural force until director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Ted Griffin rebooted it in 2001.

The new version starred George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts at the peak of their movie stardom, leading an ensemble which included Matt Damon, Elliott Gould, Don Cheadle, Eddie Jemison, Bernie Mac, Carl Reiner, Casey Affleck, Scott Cann, Qin Shaobo and Andy Garcia.

Clooney played Danny Ocean, a professional gambler and thief just out of prison when he concocts an elaborate scheme to pull of the impossible: robbing a Las Vegas casino on a fight night when the vault would hold $150 million.

Also at stake, Danny’s intentions in redeeming himself with ex-wife Tess, who is now dating the owner of the casino he intends to rob.

The movie was a fun, zippy and star-studded affair. It was a massive commercial success, pulling in $US450 million at the box office against its $US85 million budget, and was a favourite rewatch on DVD and TV repeats.

The reviews for cleverly plotted story, charismatic performers and Soderbergh’s dynamic direction were also significantly better than for the 1960 original.

Two sequels followed, both centred on another complex heist, reuniting the original cast with the addition of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Vincent Cassel for the second film in 2004, and Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin for the third in 2007.

In 2018, Gary Ross directed a female-centric spin-off movie starring Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett in roles that evoked a similar dynamic to that between Clooney and Pitt.

Bullock played con artist Debbie Ocean, sister to Danny, and also just out of prison with a plan to pull off a heist at the high-profile and intensely surveilled Met Gala. She assembles a team played by Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, Rihanna and Helena Bonham Carter, with Anne Hathaway taking on the role of a big-headed actor who’s their mark.

Ocean’s 8 exists in the same continuity as the Soderbergh trilogy and Qin reprises his role as contortionist Yen. The film also establishes Danny Ocean as dead, but given his slippery nature, it’s hard to know what to believe.

Ocean’s 11 (1960) is available for digital rental, Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen are available on Stan, Ocean’s 8 is available on Stan and Netflix