Academy Award-winning filmmaker Edward Berger, best known for All Quiet on the Western Front, has officially stepped away from talks to direct Ocean’s 14, leaving the door open for David Leitch. While the director admitted the idea was floated around, he’s made it clear it was never really his project to begin with, adding that he felt like he couldn’t add anything to it and that it wasn’t anything “new”, a sentiment it’s hard to argue with even if the movie would have been an intriguing one to watch.

“Deep down inside, I knew it’s not my movie, it’s Steven Soderbergh’s movie,” Berger told Deadline. “He invented that, beautifully. He made them, and I’m just following in his footsteps. What is new for me? I love those movies, but in essence, I don’t know what to add to what the great Steven Soderbergh did.”

Why Did Edward Berger Reject Ocean’s 14?

The comments put to rest months of speculation which began last year when it was reported that George Clooney and Brad Pitt were actively pursuing Berger for the long-rumored sequel. For a brief moment, it sounded like the project might finally come together with a new creative voice at the helm, but Berger says after giving it some thought, he realized he wasn’t the right fit. However, like a good opportunist, he spotted an opening for something else:

“I went to bed, slept eight hours, and realized, it’s not me. I called Brad because we had talked a bunch of times. I knew he was open to doing something, and I basically said, I’m sorry, I don’t want to do ‘Ocean’s’ and hope I haven’t offended you. But I have this great script that I would love you to look at because I think it might be a challenge for both of us. He read it in two days and called back and said, I want to do it. It’s the best script I’ve ever read.”

That new project is The Riders, now set up at A24 with Pitt attached to star. Berger’s choice highlights how difficult it is to continue the Ocean’s franchise without its original architect. Soderbergh directed all three Clooney-led films, establishing the playful tone and sleek style that defined the series, but after 2007’s Ocean’s 13, Soderbergh said he was finished with the franchise. On top of that, the loss of Bernie Mac, Carl Reiner, and producer Jerry Weintraub has made any revival especially tricky.

Warner Bros. attempted to keep the brand alive with 2018’s Ocean’s 8, which performed well financially but didn’t fully reignite fan enthusiasm. Clooney and Pitt’s return in Ocean’s 14 seemed like the best shot at recapturing some of that spark, but with Berger stepping aside, the project is back to square one.

via Collider