Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy and Dave Chappelle Almost Starred in a ‘Black Ocean’s Eleven’ with Trump As Villain

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Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappelle and Chris Tucker almost starred in a “Black Ocean’s Eleven” about a gang that robs Trump Tower. Rock recalled the unmade project in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, noting that Donald Trump was envisioned as the film’s villain.

Rock said the movie was pitched to him by Murphy at producer Brian Grazer’s office in Los Angeles. The heist comedy would see an all-star cast of black comedians take on Trump, who would be a villain akin to “Alan Rickman in Die Hard.” The project never came to fruition and instead became 2011’s Tower Heist, starring Murphy, Ben Stiller and “a whole bunch of white people,” as Rock put it.

Trump wasn’t involved in Tower Heist either. Instead, the comedy sees the employees of a New York City high-rise rob their wealthy employer after falling victim to his Ponzi scheme. Alan Alda portrayed the film’s fictional villain alongside a supporting cast that included Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck and Téa Leoni.

Also in his interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Rock recalled seeing Trump at a New York City nightclub years before the real estate mogul entered the political race. “I remember Eddie, Arsenio [Hall], Prince and me at a club one night,” he said, “and Donald Trump walks in and all these girls just start running to that side of the room because a fucking 6-foot-whatever blond billionaire with his name on all the buildings walks in — like if that room was a seesaw, we’d be in the air.”

Rock can next be seen starring in the fourth season of FX’s Fargo, which he described as “the best part I’ve ever had.” The show was supposed to premiere back in March before being delayed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Fargo will now debut on Sept. 27.

Next year, Rock is starring in a reboot of the Saw franchise. The comedian developed the idea for the horror film, titled Spiral, which he envisioned “in the comedic style of Murphy’s 48 Hours.”