Joe Carnahan is one of many directors who keeps a regular blog to keep in touch with readers, but it's rare for major directors to break serious news in a blog post that's only a few sentences long. Carnahan wrote on his blog, Smokin' Joe Carnahan, that Universal has officially greenlit a prequel to Smokin' Aces, the 2007 movie that all of a sudden made him a director with access to big projects like Killing Pablo and White Jazz.
Since both of those movies mentioned above seem to be mired in the development swamp, it makes sense for Carnahan to move ahead with a bona fide moneymaker in an Aces sequel. "Cameos will abound. Trust me," Carnahan wrote in his blog entry, and even though many of the biggest names from the first movie died before thee credits rolled, the prequel means we can probably count on some celebrity cameos to keep interest in a prequel to a movie that, to my knowledge, didn't particularly need one to begin with. I'm sure we'll be hearing more casting details in the weeks to come, so if your interest in this movie hinges entirely on whether Jeremy Piven will appear, hold your horses.
