Julia Roberts seemed skeptical that the upcoming Ocean’s sequel would be worth the effort.
Roberts, who played Tess Ocean in 2001’s Ocean’s Eleven alongside George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon, and reprised the role in 2004’s Ocean’s Twelve, explained from the Golden Globes red carpet on Sunday that she initially had low expectations when approached about returning as Tess for the third time in the upcoming sequel, Ocean’s 14.
“I have seen a script, and I was—I was kind of surprised. ‘Cause I was like, ‘Oh, what is the story gonna be? What could, you know… And it’s good. I mean, we wouldn’t do it if it’s not good,” she continued.
Clooney, as well as Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Don Cheadle, are all expected to reprise their roles in the film. In October, Clooney said they would begin shooting in “about nine or 10 months.”
The Fall Guy and Bullet Train director David Leitch is attached to take over the franchise from Steven Soderbergh, but no screenwriters have been reported for the project.
The Ocean’s story continued with a third film in 2007, Ocean’s Thirteen, in which Roberts did not appear. The female-led spinoff Ocean’s 8, starring Sanda Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Sarah Paulson, Rihanna, and more, was also released in 2018.
Roberts was up for the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture—Drama award on Sunday, but the statue went to Jessie Buckley for her role in Hamnet.
The actress, affectionately dubbed “America’s Sweetheart” in the early 1990s for her iconic heartwarming roles, still got her “flowers,” so to speak, when she appeared on stage to present the award for Best Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy and was greeted with a standing ovation. That award went to Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another.
“Thank you,” she said before quipping, “I’m going to be impossible for at least a week, I appreciate that.”
