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An all-female take on Ocean's Eleven, Warner Bros.’ traditionally male-starring heist franchise, will star Mindy Kaling, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter and others, Deadline reports. Five new additions to the Ocean's 8 line-up bring the total confirmed starring cast to seven, one shy of filling out the full set of stars.
Kaling is best-known for her work on TV as the star of The Mindy Project, while Rihanna is a Grammy-nominated singer; Helena Bonham Carter is a celebrated character actress seen in works like Fight Club, Alice in Wonderland and the Harry Potter movies. Although it may seem unlikely to see all three in the same film, it speaks to the franchise's history of bringing some of the biggest cultural forces from across entertainment together in one picture.
The diverse mix of women joining the project also includes Oscar winner Anne Hathaway and Awkwafina, a rapper and actress last seen in May’s Neighbors 2. Warner Bros. previously confirmed that Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett would be involved with the film, and Deadline says it’s set to enter production this October — pending one last woman joining the cast of eight.
Gary Ross will direct the spinoff, the most recent in the series since Ocean’s Thirteen hit theaters in 2007. There are conflicting reports as to whether the film, not yet scheduled for release, is called Ocean's 8 or Ocean's Ocho, with The Hollywood Reporter calling it by the latter title. Either way, expect eight of Hollywood's biggest names to headline the picture.
The franchise of ensemble comedies have made more than $1 billion between director Steven Soderbergh’s ‘00s trilogy alone. The original Ocean’s 11 starred a cast of 1960’s most popular actors, known as the "Rat Pack."
