I missed the initial announcement on this film, so now I’m sitting here with a giant “?????” thought-bubble over my head. Last year, there was a rumor that Sandra Bullock was interested in making an all-female remake/redo of Ocean’s Eleven. It was never going to be a strict all-lady remake, they were just going to loosely base the story on the 2001 Ocean’s Eleven movie starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Bullock was reportedly interested in playing the Clooney-esque lead role. And now for the kicker: Cate Blanchett might be joining the cast as the co-lead, or the Brad Pitt-esque part.

You’ll remember last fall we broke the news: Sandra Bullock would be starring in an all-female “Ocean’s Eleven” film directed by Gary Ross (“The Hunger Games,” “Seabiscuit”). The project was concocted by Ross, who brought the idea to original ‘Ocean’s’ franchise director Steven Soderbergh. He in turn brought it to the late producer Jerry Weintraub and with Bullock in tow, the team was off and running (though the project was secretly in existence months before we reported it). With a solid pitch from Ross, a longtime pal of Soderbergh’s, it was a no-brainer for Soderbergh to step aside and let Ross, director of the upcoming Civil War drama “Free State of Jones,” take over. However, there’s more.

Sources close to the project tell The Playlist that “Carol” star Cate Blanchett is currently in talks to join the film that is currently affectionately known as “Ocean’s Ocho” by the key creatives, which of course means eight principal thieves pulling off a heist, not eleven. Should the deal close, Blanchett would be playing the Brad Pitt role next to Bullock’s Clooney character at least as far as the outline goes. But neither actress is playing a female version of those characters. Instead, the roles are loosely modeled after the friendship/partnership dynamic established in the Soderbergh films.

Expected to be a star-studded affair, the film is aiming to shoot this late fall/early winter, but that may put the brakes on the rumored involvement of Jennifer Lawrence. Apparently, she may have a scheduling conflict. While Lawrence has a relationship with Ross (he directed her in “The Hunger Games,” and the pair had been developing a two-part adaptation of John Steinbeck‘s “East Of Eden” and an adaptation of Hannah Kent‘s bestselling “Burial Rites”), we’re hearing her name in connection to the film is early and her involvement may not pan out.

While there was some early talk that George Clooney’s Danny Ocean character could cameo in the film, that idea has been nixed for now. However, they have loose plans for sequels should the movie take off, and it’s possible the character could appear down the road.

[From The Playlist]

While I think it’s sort of cheeseball to constantly do all-lady remakes of all of these films, I’ve been thinking about this movie, where an all-lady group of thieves pull off some kind of major score, and I have to admit… it could work. It could work really well. I would have been in with just Bullock’s involvement, but add Cate Blanchett to the mix in a lighter, more comedic role and this could be really interesting. Bullock will probably produce this, and I trust her as a producer. I trust that she’ll bring in some interesting – and hopefully diverse – ladies into the mix. J-Law would be unnecessary. But Kerry Washington, maybe? Or how about Viola Davis? And/or Constance Wu? And Tessa Thompson! And Teyonah Parris. And Mindy Kaling. Throw in Emma Stone and America Ferrera. I hope all of these ladies and more get calls to come in and read for roles.

Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.