According to lead star George Clooney, Ocean’s Fourteen has officially entered development. The actor claimed that the studio is aiming for a 2026 filming period, with Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Julia Roberts all supposedly reprising their roles. The film will be the fourth entry in the main Ocean’s series, discounting 2018’s all-female spinoff, Ocean’s Eight.

Ocean’s Fourteen has been rumored for a long time, but many fans had given up their hopes of this anticipated reunion when another Ocean’s spinoff was announced several years ago with Margot Robbie in the lead role. However, the franchise has made the right decision by returning to its roots and giving audiences exactly what they came for.

Ocean’s Fourteen Is A Safer Play Than Margot Robbie’s Prequel

While there’s been no official announcement that Margot Robbie’s Ocean’s prequel is canceled, it’s seemingly increasingly likely that this project will simply be shelved while Ocean’s Fourteen is prioritized. This seems like a harsh decision, but in reality, it proves that Ocean’s has learned a crucial lesson from the underwhelming reception of Ocean’s Eight.

Ocean’s Eight performed decently at the box office, and received generally favorable reviews from critics, but it ultimately lacked the pᴀssion that made the original trilogy so successful. There were no further sequels announced, and the spinoff was essentially hung out to dry. The Ocean‘s franchise couldn’t afford to let this happen again.

Going back to the main series feels like a much more viable strategy to get audiences back on-board with the franchise after so many years. Having two underwhelming spinoffs in a row could have been a death sentence for Ocean’s, so the franchise needed a more accessible play to secure its future.

Although Clooney originally claimed he was “too old” for Ocean’s Fourteen, there’s absolutely no doubt that audiences would rather see these beloved actors come back to the franchise than try and connect with a whole roster of new characters they don’t yet know. Plus, legacy sequels are becoming increasingly popular — being older isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

If Ocean’s Fourteen leans into the fact that its lead actors are almost two decades older than the last time we saw them, this sequel could develop a really fun subtext of aging and legacy that enhances the story rather than detracts from it. Films like Top Gun: Maverick have already proven that this is possible.

Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter what Ocean’s Fourteen is about – the fact that these actors are reprising their roles after so many years is enough of a talking point that the sequel is already at an advantage. Conversely, Margot Robbie’s spinoff would be starting at a disadvantage. After Ocean’s Fourteen, it would have to justify its own existence.

Even if this Ocean’s spinoff was great, that may not have been enough. Even brilliant films can sometimes fail at the box office and stop a profitable franchise in its tracks. What’s needed is a fun concept, strong marketing, and a commercial draw. Before the script has even been written, Ocean’s Fourteen has all three.

Ocean’s Fourteen Could Help Future Installments

Importantly, Ocean’s Fourteen doesn’t just have itself to worry about — it also needs to set the stage for even more sequels in the future. Bringing back these characters for a one-off adventure could be fun, but injecting a new sense of life and longevity into the franchise is what Warner Bros. will truly be concerned about.

Margot Robbie’s spinoff could be good, great even, but it’s not going to springboard the series in the same way that Ocean’s Fourteen can. There’s far too much set-up and exposition that needs to go into a prequel with new characters and new locations – there simply won’t be time to weave an entire franchise tease into the story too.

Ocean’s Fourteen doesn’t necessarily have to worry about exposition, because we already know and love all the characters who will be coming back. The film will need to spend some time getting the viewer up to date on what Danny Ocean is up to now, but it won’t be anywhere near as time-consuming and demanding as a prequel would be.

Ocean’s Fourteen will also be the first Ocean’s movie that isn’t directed by Steven Soderbergh, so it has the perfect opportunity to pᴀss the torch to a new director who could keep this franchise alive without relying on unnecessary spin-offs to build momentum.

Since Margot Robbie’s prequel will be directed by Lee Isaac Chung, it makes sense to give Soderbergh his big send-off before bringing in the new talent. He’s strongly ᴀssociated with this franchise, so it’s fitting that his characters will return. That leaves the perfect opening for Robbie’s prequel to shine without the pressure of directly following Ocean’s Eight.

It’s too early to predict what Ocean’s Fourteen‘s story will be, or what’s going to happen to these characters, but it’s clear that bringing Clooney, Pitt, and Roberts back is a surefire way to get audiences back on board after an underwhelming spinoff. There will be room for prequels in the future, but this feels like a necessary intervention.