Steven Soderbergh

‘Ocean’s Eight,’ the all-female heist comedy spinoff of Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Ocean’s Eleven,’ might be getting another new cast member. For the past few weeks the film has been collecting star after star like a poker player scooping up thousand-dollar chips, and multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Sarah Paulson is the most recent to be in talks to join the fun.

We’ve heard rumblings for a while about Gary Ross’ all-female ‘Oceans 11' reboot. In addition to Sandra Bullock leading the film, Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling and Helena Bonham Carter have all been rumored. Now three more spots have reportedly been filled in what is some of the weirdest casting news in a while.

Starz’s efforts to take Steven Soderbergh’s The Girlfriend Experience to TV appear to have paid off, but don’t get too attached to any characters from Season 1. The network has officially confirmed an extended renewal for Season 2, albeit one with “entirely new characters and plotlines.”

When Cate Blanchett was initially rumored for the Ocean’s Eleven spinoff, so too was the film’s working title: Ocean’s Ocho, which refers to the number of characters in the ensemble for Gary Ross’ female-fronted heist project. Ross himself has now officially confirmed the title for the film, which he’s been developing with original Ocean’s trilogy director Steven Soderbergh for some time now. And if you’re wondering just how similar Ross’ film will be to its predecessors, the answer is “pretty similar.”

A few weeks back, we learned that Scott Frank and Steven Soderbergh’s new Western miniseries Godless has begun initial casting with none other than Newsroom alum Jeff Daniels, and the official report brings yet more good news. Not only is Daniels confirmed, but so too is Walking Dead alum Merritt Wever, a Game of Thrones member and more.

By now you know it’s best to expect the unexpected when it comes to Steven Soderbergh, who recently emerged from semi-retirement (or Not Actual Retirement At All) to direct his first feature film since 2012. Even still, you probably never would have guessed that his latest project would star Adam Driver, Seth MacFarlane and Katherine Heigl — okay, you might have guessed Driver since that guy is pretty much everywhere right now. But would you have predicted the casting of Hilary Swank? Probably not.

We’re still not entirely sure what to call the new female-fronted Ocean’s Eleven movie, but whatever it is, it’s assembling some seriously great talent. In addition to Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Lawrence has been reportedly considering joining the lineup, while the latest name eyeing the sorta-sequel / Ocean’s-adjacent project is none other than the great Cate Blanchett — a name that would take this project from a curiosity to a must-see.

Just when you thought you’d lost count of the Netflix original series in development, here comes number … uh, moving on! Scott Frank and Steven Soderbergh’s new Western miniseries Godless has begun casting, with none other than Newsroom alum Jeff Daniels and Batman v. Superman bomb Scoot McNairy eyed for leading roles.

This whole “will they or won’t they” thing between Daniel Craig and the James Bond franchise has become more ridiculous than Ross and Rachel. And now Craig is adding a bit more fuel to the Bond-fire as the actor is preparing to join the cast of Steven Soderbergh’s Logan Lucky, making his return to the world of 007 seem increasingly unlikely.

That ol’ grain of salt goes without saying (seriously, we need a better phrase) for the latest report regarding the female-centric Ocean’s 11 sequel / reboot. Jennifer Lawrence may be reuniting with Hunger Games director Gary Ross for the upcoming project, which is being produced by original Ocean’s trilogy director Steven Soderbergh.