EXCLUSIVE: Two-time Oscar-nominated Minari filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung has departed Warner Bros and LuckyChap’s Ocean’s prequel. Chung was in development with the pic’s star and producer Margot Robbie. We are told by a Warner Bros’ spokesperson that “this is an amicable split due to creative differences.”
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Warner Bros and LuckyChap reps also praised: “Lee Isaac is a singular filmmaking talent whose vision and partnership have been invaluable to Warner Bros. and LuckyChap throughout this journey. Our experience with him has only deepened our enthusiasm to collaborate on future projects together.”
With Warner Bros about to be acquired by Paramount, the Ocean’s prequel remains an important project to get up and running. A search for a new director is underway. The plot of the new movie remained under wraps with a screenplay by Carrie Solomon and based on characters created by George Clayton Johnson & Jack Golden Russell.
The Las Vegas heist series of movies first launched in 1960 making the Rat Pack — Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop — along with Angela Dickinson, world famous. Steven Soderbergh rebooted the series in 2001 with a new trilogy starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia and Julia Roberts. There was also a 2018 all-female version starring Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway and Cate Blanchett. Those four movies in the new millennium combined grossed over $1.4B worldwide.
Chung was nominated for best director and original screenplay for A24’s Minari, which also won the Grand Jury and Audience Awards at Sundance in 2020 and notched Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice wins, along with multiple Academy, Spirit, BAFTA and SAG nominations. Minari was nominated for six Oscars, winning one for Youn Yuh-jung as Best Supporting Actress. Chung went on to reboot Universal and Warner Bros’ Twisters, which posted an $81.2 million domestic opening and finaled at $267.7M domestic and $372.2M worldwide. Chung’s other projects include Munyurangabo, which premiered in 2007 at the Cannes Film Festival to critical acclaim, and episodes of The Mandalorian and Skeleton Crew.
As Paramount goes through the regulatory process for the merger, both studios can respectively greenlight whatever projects they wish without the other’s authority. The merger is expected to close at the end of Q3, and as you can see here, Paramount will have a very rich, Warner Bros franchise-filled year-end and 2027.