Ocean's Eleven Timeline: The Story in Order

Ocean's 11 (1960) is a separate film from the Danny Ocean saga, not its first chapter, because the 2001 film remakes it and no story link joins them. Directed by Lewis Milestone and released in the US on August 10, 1960, it stars Frank Sinatra as Danny Ocean, a Second World War veteran who, together with Jimmy Foster, brings together nine former comrades from their airborne unit to rob five Las Vegas casinos at the same moment on New Year's Eve: the Sahara, Riviera, Desert Inn, Sands and Flamingo.

The method is where the film earns its place in any timeline. The crew blows up a power transmission tower so the Strip goes dark, and they have secretly rewired each casino's backup system so the cashier cages open when the emergency generator starts. A garbage truck then collects the bags and rolls through the police blockade.

The ending closes the story completely. Tony Bergdorf, the crew's electrician, dies of a heart attack on the Strip, the stolen cash is hidden in his coffin, and his widow has the body cremated in Las Vegas with the money inside. The crew walks away with nothing, and the film sets up no sequel. That is why it comes first by release date but sits outside the story line that follows.

Ocean's Eleven (2001) is the first film in the Danny Ocean story, released in the US on December 7, 2001. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, it opens with George Clooney's Danny walking out of a New Jersey prison and straight into a plan. The target is a vault shared by three Las Vegas casinos owned by Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), who is now dating Danny's ex wife Tess (Julia Roberts).

Danny and Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) assemble the crew, and Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould) backs the job. The team builds a replica of the vault to rehearse, then times the robbery for a big boxing match night, when the vault holds the most cash. A device that creates an electromagnetic pulse knocks out power across the city, crew members in SWAT disguises walk in, and a looped recording of the vault keeps Benedict's security staff convinced nothing is wrong.

Benedict works out who is responsible and has Danny jailed for violating parole, but the crew had already swapped the cash out, so Benedict finds nothing on them. Danny is later released, Rusty and Tess pick him up, and the film closes with the gang gathered in front of the Bellagio fountain in Las Vegas. The story left room for a sequel, and Ocean's Twelve followed in 2004.

Ocean's Twelve (2004) follows Ocean's Eleven (2001) and sees Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) demand his money back with interest from the whole crew. Directed by Steven Soderbergh and released in the US on December 10, 2004, the film starts after the crew has scattered across the world. Benedict tracks down all eleven members and gives them two weeks to pay.

Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) move the crew to Europe, and their first job in Amsterdam collapses after a tip off. The tip came from the Night Fox, the French thief François Toulour (Vincent Cassel), who bets Danny that he can reach a Fabergé egg first. Isabel Lahiri (Catherine Zeta-Jones) of Europol chases both sides, and Tess Ocean (Julia Roberts) joins in by posing as the actress Julia Roberts.

Danny wins the bet because the crew had already swapped the real egg, with help from Toulour's own mentor, Gaspar LeMarc. Toulour pays Benedict, Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould) promises there will be no more jobs against Benedict's casinos, and Isabel learns that LeMarc is her father.

Ocean's Thirteen (2007) is a revenge heist in which Danny Ocean's crew targets hotel developer Willy Bank (Al Pacino) after he cheats Reuben Tishkoff out of his casino share. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the film reached US theaters on June 8, 2007, and returns the story to Las Vegas. Reuben (Elliott Gould) suffers a heart attack that leaves him bedridden, and Danny (George Clooney) gathers the crew.

The plan targets opening night. The crew aims to wreck the hotel's chances of a top industry rating and to rig the tables and slot machines so players win big and the house loses its expected profit. They also have to beat the casino's cheat detection system. When their drilling equipment fails, they turn to their old rival Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) for money, and he asks for Bank's diamonds in return.

Benedict secretly hires a thief to grab the diamonds first, but Danny foresaw the double cross and the stones turn out to be a decoy. The rigged games pay out, Bank cannot retaliate, Reuben gets a casino of his own, and Danny gives Benedict's share to charity in Benedict's name. The film closes the Danny Ocean trilogy.

Yes, Ocean's Eight (2018), directed by Gary Ross and released in the US on June 8, 2018, is connected to the Danny Ocean story: its lead Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock) is Danny's sister, and Danny is already dead when the film begins. That places it after the events of Ocean's Thirteen, and Elliott Gould returns as Reuben.

Debbie leaves prison and puts a long planned heist in motion: stealing the Toussaint, a Cartier necklace worth about $150 million, at the Met Gala in New York. She reunites with Lou (Cate Blanchett) and builds a crew of designer Rose Weil (Helena Bonham Carter), jeweler Amita (Mindy Kaling), hacker Nine Ball (Rihanna), pickpocket Constance (Awkwafina) and fence Tammy (Sarah Paulson). Rose styles the gala host Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway) so that she wears the necklace.

The crew lifts the necklace, leaves a replica behind, and frames Debbie's former partner Claude Becker (Richard Armitage). Daphne works out what happened and joins as the eighth member. A second theft of loaned royal jewels, carried out by Lou and Yen, makes the haul worth even more. Debbie ends at Danny's grave, raising a martini to him.

The untitled Ocean's Eleven prequel, set at the 1962 Monaco Grand Prix, is dated for June 25, 2027 in the US. In story terms it would sit before everything else in the Danny Ocean line. Warner Bros. dated it at CinemaCon on April 14, 2026, according to Variety Australia, and the film is in production.

The story is about Danny Ocean's parents. Bradley Cooper writes, directs and co stars with Margot Robbie, after Lee Isaac Chung left the director's chair in March 2026. Ryan Gosling is no longer attached, having left in October 2025. Motorsport.com reported in August 2026 that Cooper was filming 1962 Grand Prix scenes in Monaco, with filming there starting on August 24, 2026.

The film is still officially untitled, so the name could change before release. For the full status, see the oceans eleven prequel coverage.

Watch the Ocean's Eleven films in release order, because story order and release order match: Ocean's Eleven (2001), Ocean's Twelve (2004), Ocean's Thirteen (2007), then Ocean's Eight (2018), with the 1960 film optional. The one exception to that match is Ocean's 11 (1960): it was released first, but it belongs to no story line, so it is not step one of the timeline.

The Danny Ocean saga runs from 2001 to 2007, and Ocean's Twelve is the only direct sequel to the 2001 heist. Ocean's Eight is the bridge to the present day, because it ends at Danny's grave and Elliott Gould returns as Reuben, the one face from the earlier films who carries over.

The prequel is the most interesting piece of the timeline, and it does not exist yet. A 1962 Monaco story about Danny's parents would reach back further than any film in the series, and I expect it to change how the opening of Ocean's Eleven reads: Danny walking out of prison looks different once you have seen where the family started. That is my opinion until the film arrives on June 25, 2027.

If you are new to this, start with Ocean's Eleven (2001), watch straight through Twelve and Thirteen, then add Eight. Save the 1960 film for last, as a comparison of how a vault job and a power cut were handled four decades earlier. The full list sits in ocean's eleven movies in order.