The franchise has always run on wattage, from the Rat Pack originals to Steven Soderbergh’s Clooney-and-Pitt reinventions, and the prequel now coming together at Warner Bros. looks intent on keeping that tradition intact. With production reportedly due to begin this month, its cast has been filling out at a steady clip, and the latest name to board is one that anyone with a Disney soundtrack in their house will recognize instantly.
Speaking at CinemaCon this spring, star framed around the people who shaped the franchise’s most famous con man. It follows Danny Ocean’s parents, the “two masterminds” who taught him the trade, as they pull off an elaborate heist set at the 1962 Monaco Grand Prix. It’s a smart way to widen the world without leaning on faces audiences already know, handing co-lead Bradley Cooper and Robbie a period playground in place of another Vegas casino floor.
has now also signed on for the film, reports, taking what sources describe as a significant role, though nothing more specific about the part has surfaced. If Gad looks like an unusual fit for a cast this glossy, that undersells the reach he actually commands. He, of course, voices Olaf across the Frozen films, among the highest-grossing animated movies ever made, and earned a Tony nomination for originating a lead in The Book of Mormon, one of Broadway’s defining hits of the century. Stack on a slate that runs from Spaceballs: The New One to more Frozen and Angry Birds sequels, and few working actors turn up in front of more people.
His arrival lands barely a day after . Monica Barbaro, fresh from playing Joan Baez in A Complete Unknown, joined the cast (via ), lining up the Secret Agent star set to play the villain.
writing, directing, producing, and starring. He took the director’s chair from Lee Isaac Chung, the as an executive producer, lending the prequel a behind-the-scenes pedigree to match its call sheet. Robbie is also producing through her LuckyChap banner with her husband, Tom Ackerley.
The Soderbergh trilogy and the Ocean’s Eight spin-off have together earned more than $1.4 billion worldwide, and the untitled prequel now stands as the sixth film in the series, with a separate fourth chapter reuniting the Clooney-led crew also reported to be circling a start later this year. Whether Gad’s role proves a scene-stealer or something more low-key, the pieces are falling into place fast for a film still holding most of its cards face down.