IN LIMBO

Second Director Ditches ‘Ocean’s 11’ Movie Prequel

The ‘Minari’ director is the second to walk away from the project after Jay Roach’s earlier departure.

Margot Robbie’s Ocean’s Eleven prequel has found itself without a director once more.

Lee Isaac Chung departed the project over “creative differences,” according to a statement provided to Deadline by a Warner Bros. spokesperson, who added that the split was “amicable.”

In a joint statement, Warner Bros. and Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment, which is producing the film, said that Chung was a “singular filmmaking talent whose vision and partnership have been invaluable to Warner Bros. and LuckyChap throughout this journey.” Robbie, 35, will also star in the movie.

“Our experience with him has only deepened our enthusiasm to collaborate on future projects together,” the statement added.

Chung was originally brought on board in July 2025 following the departure of the film’s original director, previous Robbie collaborator and Bombshell director Jay Roach, who left the project for unknown reasons prior to Chung’s involvement. Chung is known for his Oscar-nominated film Minari and for directing the 2004 disaster film Twister.

The screenplay for the Ocean’s film, which is set in 1960s Europe and serves as a prequel to Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Eleven, is being written by Carrie Solomon, and like other films in the Oceans franchise, is based on the 1960 Ocean’s 11 film starring Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.

In addition to the prequel, a sequel to Ocean’s Eleven and 2004’s Ocean’s Twelve is in development, titled Ocean’s 14.

Julia Roberts, who is set to reprise her role as Tess Ocean for the film, said in January that she was initially skeptical that the film would be worth the effort, but was pleasantly surprised after seeing the script.

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Julia Roberts ‘Surprised’ New Sequel Script Is Actually Good

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“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.

Fellow stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Don Cheadle are also set to return for the film. In October, Clooney said that they would begin shooting in “about nine or 10 months.”

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