Back in the early to mid-2000s, Brad Pritt, George Clooney, and Matt Damon combined forces with Steven Soderbergh and a wide cast of characters around to pull of heists in a reimagining of the Ocean's Eleven property that first came about in 1960. The group of actors turned the single movie idea into an unlikely trilogy. And though it has been almost a decade since the last installment, Warner Bros. has found a way to bring the franchise back as an all-female spinoff titled Ocean's 8.
Director Gary Ross has assembled a diverse group of actresses to headline the film, but the plot and conflict at the center of the movie have remained a mystery. Production is already underway and after being spotted on set multiple times, it has been revealed that former Homeland and current Billions star Damian Lewis will play the film's villain.
As reported by Variety, Lewis's role has been confirmed to be the antagonist of the film's group of thieves. As for what exactly his character is involved in or why these ladies have it out for him is not yet known. However, the plot will reportedly involve the fashion world, so Lewis could potentially be playing a head executive for a fashion company or be a designer who somehow becomes involved with the franchise's new stars.
Lewis has now been put in the position of following up the villain roles that came before him in the franchise. The previous trilogy brought Andy Garcia as Terry Benedict, Vincent Cassel as François Toulour, and Al Pacino as Willy Bank, so it will be interesting to see if Lewis's character will prove to be the most memorable of the bunch.
With Warner pushing this an all-female cast, it is a tad disheartening to see that they did not also bring a female onboard to be the villain. The cast already features big name stars like Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham-Carter, Mindy Kaling, Rhianna, Anne Hathaway, and more, and giving each of them a chance to play off a prominent female villain would have been an interesting way to go.
It is difficult to imagine a scenario where the villain role could not just as easily have been a woman, but as Lewis has snagged that role, hopefully Ross and the cast use it to the film's advantage in some way. Lewis has proven himself a capable actor that has primarily starred on the small screen, so seeing him get a potentially big role in major motion picture is well-earned. As long as he is able to present an entertaining problem for the female group to overcome and doesn't take away from their time together onscreen, Lewis should prove to be a fine addition to this ensemble piece.
Source: Variety
