Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is the sequel to Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr.‘s 2018 hit action movie, Den of Thieves. The film, currently showing in theaters, maintains the greasy, scumbag vibes that helped establish the franchise in the first place. Den of Thieves 2: Pantera has received a 79% Rotten Tomatoes audience rating, and continues to plot its way upward on the box office charts. The first installment saw Butler‘s cop character, Big Nick, tracking down a crew of thieves, led by Jackson Jr.’s Donnie. The sequel has, however, featured a swapping of sides by Nick, pointing perhaps towards a prospective third film.
Given how much interest the franchise has whipped up, it is not surprising that there are hopes of a further expansion. Butler himself has offered a promising update regarding that idea. Speaking in an interview with The Direct, Butler revealed that he has already been offered a unique pitch that relocates the third film to Africa. The actor explains that the pitch from Christian Gudegast, the franchise’s creator, was short, but one filled with great adventure. Butler‘s comments read:
“There’s an idea [that has] just been pitched to me by Christian, and it’s literally been one minute and thirty-second pitch, so I haven’t had time to assimilate it because I’m too busy trying to get ready for this movie. So I don’t know. It sounds like it’s a great adventure, and I’m scared to say anything if we don’t go with this version. But it could involve Africa, and it’s some really exciting stuff over there. I don’t know enough about it to know what I could do with Nick… I love working with [Christian], and Donnie, by the way, I love working with O’Shea [Jackson]. I mean, it’s just that you could feel it from the first movie, and now we get a chance to really spend time with each other. I love watching that he’s just so talented; it is so fun to work with him. And I really feel what we did together is something unusual for a heist movie.”
The ‘Den of Thieves’ Franchise Could Expand Even Further
Whilst Den of Thieves 3 is not confirmed yet, there is a strong chance the movie will happen if Pantera, manages to impress considerably at the box office. Butler‘s interest in rounding out the trilogy is also likely to go a long way in seeing that happen. The prospect of a third installment is not an outlandish one. Speaking to Collider’s Steve Weintraubafter our early screening of the film in Los Angeles, Gudegast hinted towards the prospective of having three more sequels added to the franchise, saying:
“So again, while researching heists, the research is agnostic to where it takes place in the world. There are three particular ones that are unreal. One is in Brazil, one is in Africa, and one is in Southeast Asia. The thing about those worlds is that they have a whole different criminal world down there, underground, and characters and everything. It will always be about taking these guys into those worlds.”
Coming almost seven years after the original Den of Thieves arrived in theaters, the sequel picks up right where the first film left off. Butler’s Big Nick O’Brien has seen his hunt for O’Shea Jackson Jr.’s master thief, Donnie Wilson, taking him to Europe, where he becomes entangled with a treacherous diamond heist involving the notorious Panther mafia. This time, however, Big Nick has decided to swap sides.
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is in theaters now. Stay tuned to Collider for updates regarding Den of Thieves 3.
via Collider