Warner Bros is planning a new spin on one of its most bankable franchises and it may have found its director as reports suggest Minari filmmaker and two-time Oscar nominee Lee Isaac Chung is in discussions to direct the upcoming Ocean’s prequel.
According to Deadline exclusive, the project is being produced by LuckyChap Entertainment, with a screenplay by Carrie Solomon, based on characters created by George Clayton Johnson and Jack Golden Russell. True to the Ocean’s legacy of tight-lipped plots and twisty reveals, details of the story are under wraps, and no casting deals have been finalized yet.
The Ocean’s franchise has long been a cornerstone for Warner Bros, beginning with the original 1960 Rat Pack classic starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop. That ensemble was later reimagined by Steven Soderbergh in 2001, launching a sleek trilogy with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Julia Roberts that went on to gross over $1.4 billion worldwide. The series expanded again in 2018 with Ocean’s 8, featuring an all-female ensemble led by Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, and Anne Hathaway.
Now, Warner Bros is setting the stage for a fresh take and Chung could be the ace in its hand. Chung rose to international acclaim with Minari, the deeply personal immigrant drama that premiered at Sundance in 2020, where it won both the Grand Jury and Audience Awards. The film later secured six Oscar nominations, including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Chung, and earned a win for Youn Yuh-jung in the Best Supporting Actress category. It was also named one of the year’s top 10 films by the AFI and the National Board of Review, the latter of which awarded Chung its Best Original Screenplay prize.
The director recently proved his blockbuster credentials by rebooting Twisters for Universal and Warner Bros, which opened to $81.2 million domestically and climbed to $372.2 million worldwide, solidifying Chung’s versatility across indie and tentpole filmmaking.
Beyond the big screen, Chung has directed standout episodes of The Mandalorian and the upcoming Skeleton Crew for Disney+. His early breakout, Munyurangabo, debuted at Cannes in 2007 to widespread acclaim. He is also attached to direct a feature adaptation of the sci-fi novel Traveler by Joseph Eckert.
Born to Korean immigrants and raised on a farm in rural Arkansas, Chung studied at Yale University before pursuing film at the University of Utah, abandoning plans for medical school in favor of cinematic storytelling. He is repped by CAA and Jackoway Austen.
About Author
Leave a Reply