by Col Sampson
Every genre has its reboots, including the ever-popular casino trope. Ocean’s 8 gave the casino-based heist franchise an all-female cast for the first time. Even if it didn’t get the same reception as the 2001 revival starring George Clooney, it’s still an example of how modern culture can reshape a movie.
Modern Casinos Are Digital
That got us thinking, what would a casino movie look like today? The basis of casinos is still the same, so we could argue nothing much would change. However, we can’t pretend the internet doesn’t exist. Popular online casinos attract millions of wagers each year because they offer hundreds of games and promotions, like the one free spin each day on the Wonder Wheel.
This combination of added value through bonus offers, and gaming options has made online gambling a mega-industry. In the UK alone, online gambling revenue topped £6.9 billion in 2022. Of that figure, £4 billion was generated by online casino sites.
Just by looking at these numbers, we can understand casino gaming is not only popular but a part of the gambling industry that could certainly be the subject of a movie, as the brick-and-mortar casinos have been. How? That’s the question.
Transitioning from Physical to Virtual
Perhaps the easiest way to transition from land-based casino movies, such as Ocean’s 11, 21, and Casino, to an online setting is virtual reality. Virtual reality casino games started to emerge a few years ago and, even though they’re still in development, they’re almost certainly going to become an integral part of the industry.
Screenwriters and directors could use this as their angle. Indeed, if any of them are fans of the British sci-fi comedy Red Dwarf, they’ll recall an episode from season two called Better Than Life.
Better than Life is a total immersion video game in which the characters step into a virtual world that’s indistinguishable from real life. The selling point of the game is that you get whatever your mind desires. Problems arise, however, when Rimmer’s brain rebels to the point he’s only wishing for harmful things. It then becomes a race to get out of the game and back to safety. This concept could easily be adapted for a new Ocean’s movie.
Instead of carrying out elaborate heists in the real world, Danny Ocean and his team need to navigate a virtual casino world full of high-tech security features and threats. One threat could be a computer virus that affects the mind.
It’s a wacky idea but it fits with the trend of remaking movies to fit with modern standards. Casino gaming is no longer confined to brick-and-mortar venues. It’s hugely popular online. Therefore, if Hollywood executives want to reboot movies in this genre, there should be some sort of virtual element.
