Bradley Cooper Eyed to Direct and Star in ‘Ocean’s 11’ Prequel

Bradley Cooper, who has been in talks to star opposite Margot Robbie in the new “Ocean’s 11” prequel, is now also at the top of the list to write and direct the Warner Bros. movie.

The news comes after “Twisters” director Lee Isaac Chung recently exited the project, following Jay Roach, who was also once attached. Cooper signing on to helm the movie, produced by Robbie’s LuckyChap, would keep it on track to shoot before the end of the year. The project would be Cooper’s fourth feature as a director, following “A Star Is Born,” “Maestro” and last year’s “Is This Thing On?”

The story is expected to take place before the events of the 2001 casino heist comedy “Ocean’s Eleven” starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts. Carrie Solomon penned a draft of the screenplay for the prequel, which is said to be set in 1960s Europe.

The original “Ocean’s 11” premiered in 1960, starring Rat Pack members Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford and Dean Martin. The Steven Soderbergh-directed “Oceans” spawned two sequels (2004’s “Ocean’s Twelve” and 2007’s “Ocean’s Thirteen”), plus the 2018 “Ocean’s Eight” reboot with Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway and Rihanna. Clooney also has a new “Ocean’s” movie in the works, with Roberts, Damon, Pitt and Don Cheadle returning, which focuses on the group as aging criminals.

“There was something about the idea that we’re too old to do what we used to do, but we’re still smart enough to know how to get away with something, that just appeals to me,” Clooney told Variety last year. “They’ve lost a step, and they need to find a way to work around their limitations.”

The “Ocean’s” prequel is one of a few projects that LuckyChap has in the works at Warner Bros., where the production company inked a first-look deal following the $1.4 billion-grossing and Oscar-nominated “Barbie.” Last month, the companies debuted Emerald Fennell’s take on the literary classic “Wuthering Heights”; next up is a reimagining of “Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman,” with Tim Burton.

Puck first reported details of Cooper’s new role. Warner Bros. had no comment.