InDen of Thieves 2 : Pantera , there is a scene where Big Nick O’Brien ( Gerard Butler ) asks Donnie Wilson ( O’Shea Jackson Jr. ) why he continues to risk it all to pull off these on the face of it unsufferable heists . “ It ’ll never be enough , ” Donnie tells Nick . “ Because it ’s not about the money . It ’s about the challenge . ”
Seven years have passed between 2018’sDen of Thievesand its 2025 sequel . Between injuries to the actors , COVID-19 , and the war in Ukraine , Den of Thieves 2almost never happened . Yet writer and director Christian Gudegast was dictated to inject a sequel . Like Donnie , Gudegast embraces the challenge , know he has more tarradiddle to tell within the Den of Thieves universe .
“ No . Not enough , ” Gudegast tells Digital Trends when asked if he would have been hunky-dory without aDen of Thievessequel . “ When I was researchingDen 1 , I came across so much material that we always have a go at it it was a much more grand world . There were always live to be three or four story in there . The arcs of the reference go through all three or four of them . It was from the very outset that we plan on a much longer story divvied up into dissimilar films . ”
Den of Thieves 2ditches the street of Los Angeles for a European excursion . Big Nick is still in mental rejection that Donnie successfully hook the Los Angeles Federal Reserve and escape his clench . Nick ’s humiliation has led to a divorce and a benching from the force . Driven by revenge , Nick travel to France and aligns himself with Pantera , a police task force looking to take down an elite gang of thieves in the Panther Mafia . Donnie has teamed with the Panthers for his next heist .
It does n’t take long for Big Nick to witness Donnie . However , Nick does not nail Donnie . Instead , he forces Donnie to countenance him get together the next rip-off , with the target being the World Diamond Center . “ And the cop goes gangster , ” Donnie says to Nick , who transforms from a peace officer into a criminal .
Gudegast knew he wanted to explore the criminal Scheol of Europe and began researching the heists that inspire the movie ’s climactic successiveness . Reading about these heists was not enough for Gudegast . He needed to swallow himself in this world , which mean travel to Europe and verbalize with the people , including tangible - life master thief .
“ Whenever I do research , I really do a deep dive into the globe . I do n’t care to translate an article or something . I really go to the earthly concern , encounter the mass , hang out with them , ” Gudegast say . “ If you really desire to get down into the item of something , you have to go to the populace and get to have it off them to go against down that wall , and that ’s when you get into the interesting stuff . ”
For Gudegast , the dickens is in the particular . Gudegast scripts every panorama , including the attempted heist , with extreme preciseness and an emphasis on specificity . “ You have an ability to move thing quickly when you ’re cut it , ” says Gudegast , who meticulously maps out every vista ahead of time .
At its inwardness , Den of Thieves is an action at law franchise . However , Panterais funnier than expected thanks to the left over - dyad - esque family relationship between Nick and Donnie . The order aspect , when Nick and Donnie party a small too unvoiced before being thrown out , is a prime exercise of the budding chemistry between Butler and Jackson .
“ We knew that from the root , it was going to be more of a buddy movie . We wanted to research that side of them , ” Gudegast says . “ I cogitate a lot ofDen 1was funny than we anticipate , so we need to lean into that more in this one for sure . ”
The ending go out the door open for a third motion-picture show . Whether Lionsgate greenlightsDen of Thieves 3will total down to the box federal agency regaining and consultation receipt . Initial tracking projectsDen of Thieves 2to earn$11 million to $ 13 million domesticallyfor its opening weekend , down from the $ 15.2 possibility forDen of Thievesin 2018 . Until then , Gudegast is prepared to makeDen of Thieves 3 .
“ inquiry is done , and yeah , we ’re ready to go , ” he said .
Den of Thieves 2 : Panteraisnow in theatre .
