Though speculation is rife that either George Clooney or Brad Pitt – or both! – will hold a small role in 2018’s female-fronted sequel Ocean’s Eight, another star from Steven Soderbergh’s original trilogy could swing by for a cameo.
Word comes by way of Entertainment Tonight, who quizzed Matt Damon about the Gary Ross-directed crime caper, which is now filming on the streets of NYC. During the interview, The Martian star dropped hints that his Ocean‘s character, Linus Caldwell, may crop up at some point during Ocean’s Eight after all. Neither Ross nor the studio has openly confirmed Damon’s involvement, so treat this one with heightened caution for now.
Assuming that Ocean’s Eight does feature characters from the original trilogy, it would align with Ross’ previous comments about the spinoff being more of a “continuation” of the story as opposed to a fully-fledged reboot, and including Matt Damon’s Linus Caldwell will ensure there’s some narrative tissue between Ocean movies past and present.
What we do know for sure is that the 2018 romp boasts a cast headlined by Sandra Bullock and Thor: Ragnarok star Cate Blanchett. Together, they’ll assemble a crack team of crooks comprised of Sarah Paulson, Rihanna, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Mindy Kaling and Awkwafina. Their mission? To steal a prized necklace from the Met Ball.
Ocean’s Eight is booked in for theatrical release on June 8, 2018, at which point Gary Ross’ female-fronted crime caper will be going up against Paramount’s as-yet-untitled Transformers spinoff.