‘Oceans Eleven’ All Female Reboot Got it Wrong With Rihanna

Variety recently reported that multi-platinum selling recording artist Rihanna will appear in an upcoming all-female reboot of Steven Soderbergh’s 2001 heist flick Ocean’s Eleven. The Ocean’s ensemble was star-studded and deep in talent as Hollywood heavyweights George Clooney, Brad Pitt and a pre-Jason Bourne Matt Damon led the flick’s roster, the second unit included rising actors Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, the late Bernie Mac and Don Cheadle. Outside of the heist crew the film also included Andy Garcia and Julia Roberts.

The upcoming all-female project, Ocean’s Eight (or Ocean’s Ocho in some reports), will be led by Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett and Anne Hathaway.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Eight already seems to be getting the women’s tennis best-of-three-sets treatment by including three less cast members. I’m also presuming that Rihanna’s role serves as a counterpart to Cheadle’s “Brasher.” One could also argue RiRi’s playing an opposite to Bernie Mac’s “Frank Catton”, but my argument is Soderbergh should have went with a different black actress altogether. The operative word being actress.

Sure, RiRi will be great in whatever her role is once the film arrives in theaters! Undoubtedly. Alicia Keys’, another outstanding recording artist, turn as professional assassin “Georgia Sykes” was stellar. However, I was hopeful that some blossoming black actress could use the expected exposure of a project with magnitude of Ocean’s Eight to be catapaulted into serious consideration for some of the mainstream looks Cheadle has achieved since Eleven – a lead detective in the Oscar-winning Crash (2004), an unimaginable hero in the stirring Hotel Rwanda (2004), and the recurring role of Lieutenant James Rhodes/War Machine in the Marvel Comics Universe.

Earlier in 2016 Cheadle also finished up with his lead-role duties as “Marty Kaan” in the fifth and final season of Showtime’s series House of Lies. Let’s take a look at three black starlets who could have truly used an Ocean’s Eight bump in their career. In the urban film game Cheadle was already widely respected for his signature roles like the ruthless gangbanger Rocket in Colors (1988), Devil in a Blue Dress‘ (1995) violence-prone Mouse, and Detroit hustler/former boxer Maurice Miller in Out of Sight (1998).

Teyonah Parris – The leading candidate if I was Soderbergh! Parris stepped into the spotlight with 2014’s Dear White People, flashed loads of sass and sexiness as leading lady Lysistrata in Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq (2015), and her screen time continues to increase with each episode in her third season as “Missy Vaughn” on Starz comedy Survivor’s Remorse. One problem with Rihanna being cast in Eight is just like Keys’ limited number of roles since Aces, we don’t know when we will see RiRi on the silver screen again. Back in June of 2016 TV ONE bet on Parris’s star power by casting her as the lead role in its first original movie Love Under New Management – the network’s popular Unsung themed biopic about 80’s and 90’s R&B powerhouse Miki Howard. Teyonah’s combination of beauty, acting chops, and the decorum displayed in her social media platform warrants more big time looks in her immediate future.

Tika Sumpter – Sumpter, a former model, is also deserving of some mainstream love from Hollywood. In fact, she’s already played Kevin Hart’s love interest in the two Ride Along films, and the exposure from Oprah Winfrey’s OWN as a cast member of The Haves and the Have Nots can’t hurt. Perhaps Sumpter’s TV and film game has already garnered the attention of Hollywood producers, her portrayal of FLOTUS Michelle Obama arrives in theaters August 26th with Southside With You. 

Lupita Nyong’o – Hard to argue Nyong’o needs somebody to argue for her to be featured in more films. The minimal amount of screen time she needed in 12 Years a Slave (2013) to win an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role was phenomenal. However, since 12 Years I’ve been left wanting a lot more than her appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens! I side with Parris over Nyong’o for the forthcoming Ocean’s project because Lupita will star in big time franchises Episode VIII in ’17, and what will likely be a co-leading role in Marvel Comics’ highly anticipated Black Panther film in ’18.  

Urban film fans would probably also add screen veterans Meagan Good (another great young lioness), Sanaa Lathan, Gabrielle Union, Regina King (or Hall), and of course the current shoo-in for anything in front of a camera Taraji P. Henson. Sorry RiRi, until your music career is real decline, I’d rather see these ladies get some invaluable screen time opposite a Bullock or Hathaway.

Shouts to Soderbergh on rebooting this heist classic with an all-female ensemble though!

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