Matt Damon's Crime Thriller Was So Good, It's Getting Both A Sequel & A Prequel Decades Later

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Matt Damon as Linus Caldwell in Ocean's Eleven

Published Sep 15, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT

Shawn S. Lealos is an entertainment writer who is a voting member of the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle. He has written for Screen Rant, CBR, ComicBook, The Direct, The Sportster, Chud, 411mania, Renegade Cinema, Yahoo Movies, and many more.

Shawn has a bachelor's degree in professional writing and a minor in film studies from the University of Oklahoma. He also has won numerous awards, including several Columbia Gold Circle Awards and an SPJ honor.

He also wrote Dollar Deal: The Story of the Stephen King Dollar Baby Filmmakers, the first official book about the Dollar Baby film program. Shawn is also currently writing his first fiction novel under a pen name, based in the fantasy genre.

To learn more, visit his website at shawnlealos.net.

It has been 25 years since Matt Damon took on a role in an ensemble crime heist movie by Steven Soderbergh, where Damon wasn't even close to being one of the most popular stars. Before this movie, Damon had won a screenwriting Oscar for Good Will Hunting with his friend Ben Affleck and had taken on some key roles in movies like Saving Private Ryan, Dogma, and The Talented Mr. Ripley.

In 2001, Soderbergh cast Damon as one of his ensemble cast members in the remake of Ocean's Eleven. The movie featured major movie stars like George Clooney and Brad Pitt, iconic legends like Elliott Gould and Carl Reiner, and younger stars like Casey Affleck and Scott Caan. Out of all those, Damon's Linus Caldwell was really the second most important character next to Clooney's Danny Ocean.

Now, 25 years later, audiences are awaiting not only another sequel to Ocean's Eleven, but a star-studded prequel about these con artists and thieves. If anything, it shows how great Soderbergh's movie was and how this cast was able to take the Rat Pack movie and turn it into something even better, surpassing it on every level.

Ocean's Eleven Remains An All-Time Great Heist Thriller

George Clooney in a casino as Danny Ocean in Ocean's Eleven

The original Ocean's 11 came out in 1960, and just like Soderbergh's movie, it was an all-star affair. While Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven had a huge group of Hollywood's top stars in the cast, the original Ocean's 11 was a vanity project for the Rat Pack. The original movie starred Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop, with Angie Dickinson, Cesar Romero, and more joining the cast.

In the original movie, Danny Ocean (Sinatra) and Jimmy Foster (Lawford) were World War II veterans who recruited members of their old unit to rob five Las Vegas casinos at the same time. Soderbergh's movie changes things by having Danny Ocean paroled after four years in prison, and his goal is to put together a team to rob three Las Vegas casinos owned by Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) during a high-profile boxing match.

What results is arguably the best heist ever shown in a movie. The entire heist is meticulously planned, with all the thieves working together, each with a specialized skill set. The best part is that the audience believes they are watching the actual robbery, but the movie is showing the trick that Ocean sets up to throw off Benedict, and then the movie shows what really happened. No other movie has ever pulled this trick off as well.

Ocean's Eleven Already Had Two Good Sequels

There is a new sequel in development that will bring back the original cast members. This isn't the first sequel, and Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven already had two good sequels and even a spinoff movie. Ocean's Twelve came out in 2004, and it features Benedict finding all the members of Ocean's crew and demanding that they return the money in two weeks, or he will have them arrested or killed.

They then head overseas to pull off another impossible heist to pay back Benedict and get out from under his thumb. Ocean's Thirteen has Ocean's friend, Reuben Tishkoff (Gould), who has a heart attack after a casino mogul named Willy Bank (Al Pacino) sends thugs to force him to sign over his part in a casino. In revenge, Ocean goes after Bank's hotel.

Both of the sequels had Soderbergh returning to direct them, with the all-star cast returning as well. The movies were so popular that Soderbergh even added new cast members along the way, with Pacino being the biggest name in Ocean's Thirteen.

There was also the spinoff Ocean's Eight, which was a female-led heist movie with Sandra Bullock starring as Debbie Ocean, Danny's sister. The cast here was just as impressive as the original movies, with Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, and Dakota Fanning in the roles.

Ocean's 14 Is Expected To Bring Back The OG Cast

Ocean's Fourteen is in the works as a third sequel to the original 2001 movie. The film has actually been in the works since Ocean's Thirteen was released in 2007, but it ended up being put on hold after Bernie Mac died in 2008. News began to trickle in when Don Cheadle said that Soderbergh was working on a concept for the film. Matt Damon also said that he wanted to return if Soderbergh directed the movie.

In 2023, Clooney said he was on board, and he said a script was completed. He also compared it to the movie Going in Style, which was a comedy heist movie from 1979 starring George Burns, Art Carney, and Lee Strasberg. That movie was about three senior citizens who decided they would pull off a heist to break up the boredom of their lives, despite having no experience as criminals.

Finally, Clooney said in 2025 that the movie was being made, the budget was being finalized by Warner Bros., and it would start shooting in 2026. David Leitch (Bullet Train) was in talks to direct, with most of the surviving cast members returning.

A Star-Studded Ocean's Prequel Is Also Happening

Danny (George Clooney) and Rusty (Brad Pitt) in Ocean's Eleven

On top of the sequel that appears to be on the way, there is also an Ocean's Eleven prequel in the works. This movie will be written and directed by Bradley Cooper. While mostly known for his acting roles, Cooper has a nice list of directorial features to his name, including A Star Is Born (2018), Maestro (2023), and Is This Thing On? (2025).

Like other movies in the franchise, this prequel will also be star-studded with Cooper starring alongside Margot Robbie, Wagner Moura, Monica Barbaro, Josh Gad, and more. The movie will take place in 1962 and focus on a heist at the Monaco Grand Prix. Filming began in July 2026 in Paris, and the Ocean's Eleven prequel is set for a June 25, 2027, release.