By now, you’ve no doubt heard that the latest property in Hollywood to get the female-led treatment is Ocean’s 11. Coming to us from director Gary Ross in the form of Ocean’s Eight, the new spin on the heist story will star an enviable cast made up of Hollywood’s hottest actresses, including Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Sarah Paulson and more. But it won’t only be the ladies who appear on screen.
We’ve head that Matt Damon, who starred in the Ocean’s 11 remake and its two sequels, will show up in some capacity as well. However, if you’re expecting him to have a substantial role in the film, you might be disappointed. That’s because the actor has revealed that it’s really just more of a quick cameo. While speaking to Collider about his new effort The Great Wall, which is a bit of a disappointment, Damon said the following in regards to his part in Ocean’s Eight.
“I haven’t filmed it yet, no, no. I was actually supposed to film it this weekend. It’s just quick, it’s a little cameo … I think, I’m there for exposition [laughs]. But look, we’re all about girl power. We want to see what these ladies do and I’m really excited to see–y’know, Gary’s great–Gary Ross is directing it, who he wrote it and the movie’s got some of my favorite actresses in it, so it should be a lot of fun.”
Though it would have been fun to see the actor get more involved, he’s right in saying that it’s really the ladies who should take center stage here. This is their spinoff, after all, and people are paying to see a female-led version of the story. Inserting Damon into too much of the film would surely take away from that and having him there just to add exposition is smart and should help establish where the movie takes place within the wider Ocean’s cinematic universe (is that a thing now?).
We’ve already seen the first photo from the upcoming flick, so a trailer shouldn’t be too far off. There’s been no word yet on when it might arrive, but things certainly sound promising for Ross’ film and if he can capture even half of the fun of either the original or Soderbergh’s remake (its sequels are better off forgotten), then we’ll be in for one hell of a good time when Ocean’s Eight sneaks into theaters.