Let’s just cut off the Ocean’s Ocho backlash at the source.
By now you know that the Ocean’s Eleven saga is continuing with Ocean’s Ocho, which introduces a brand new team.
Related: Rihanna, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, and other powerhouses join all-female Oceans reboot
This in itself is not unusual. After all, Magnificent Seven is currently setting up for a remake featuring a new cast. 21 Jump Street did the same, as did Total Recall, Terminator, The A-Team and countless others.
Oh, but this team has vaginas. Ew, or something?
To give the social conversation about Ocean’s Ocho a bit of context, let’s consider these two tiny facts, which people seem to be conveniently forgetting in their outrage:
1. ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ was, itself, a remake
In 2001, Steven Soderbergh successfully united some of the decade’s most high-profile actors: Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, and many others. The star-speckled movie made millions, and reinvented the heist genre for a new generation.
But it was also a ‘tired old remake,’ as the kids are calling it these days: Ocean’s Eleven was simply an updated retelling of Ocean’s 11 from 1960, directed by Lewis Milestone and starring five of the infamous Rat Packers: Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Joey Bishop.
Sinatra played Danny Ocean, leader of a team of World War II veterans who united to pull off the ultimate Las Vegas heist. Together, the 11 friends planed to rob five Las Vegas casinos in one night.
In the 2001 remake, it’s George Clooney in the role of Danny Ocean, and his team are (obviously) not WW2 vets. Slightly less ambitiously (lazy baby boomers, amirite?), this crew only plans on robbing three Las Vegas casinos.
That’s it. That’s the difference.
It didn’t make Ocean’s Eleven any less of a good movie, of course, because why should it?
2. ‘Ocean’s Ocho’ is not actually a remake
The media is guilty of labeling this movie a remake, for outrage-related reasons and to make it easier to compare it to the all-female Ghostbusters. But it’s simply not true.
Ocean’s Ocho is a spinoff sequel of the remake trilogy, meant to stand alone but continue the story, with a new set of con-artists.
The movie is directed by Gary Ross, but Steven Soderbergh is staying on as producer. Soderbergh and Ross are also frequent collaborators, with Soderbergh actually serving as second-unit director on Gary Ross’ The Hunger Games.
So expect lots of connections to the Clooney-led series — perhaps even Clooney himself.
Some of the remake stars are expected to appear in the new movie, and considering the close professional relationship between George Clooney and new lead Sandra Bullock, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine the actual Danny Ocean returning to direct his ‘Ocho’ team.
And there you have it. No one’s saying you have to be excited for this movie — and if they are, they’re lying, you can like whatever you want — but let’s not spread false information when talking about it.
Ocean’s Ocho stars Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Mindy Kaling, Rihanna, and Awkwafina. Between them, the new team has four Academy Awards, with another eight nominations.
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