Despite the first movie’s success and plenty of demand for a sequel, it’s taken seven years for Den of Thieves 2: Pantera to come to the screen — but there’s a reason it took so long. The writer-director behind the first movie, Christian Gudegast, is back at the helm of the sequel. Den of Thieves 2 will see Gerard Butler’s Big Nick back on the trail of O’Shea Jackson, Jr.’s Donnie Wilson, who’s planning yet another heist in Europe based on the 2003 Antwerp diamond heist.
In addition to Butler and Jackson, the Den of Thieves 2 cast features Antonio Bustorff, Cristian Solimeno, and Dino Kelly. The original Den of Thieves was released on January 19, 2018, and the sequel is arriving just under seven years later to the day on January 10, 2025. The sequel is just as action-packed and engaging as its predecessor, and the ending packs even more of a punch than the twist ending of Den of Thieves. So, why did the sequel take so long to come together?
Den Of Thieves 2 Was Repeatedly Delayed Due To Real-World Circumstances
The Den Of Thieves Sequel Faced Every Delay Imaginable
Den of Thieves was a modest box office success when it was released in 2018 and there was immediate demand for a sequel, so why did it take seven years to happen? Gudegast has explained why Den of Thieves 2 was delayed for so long. The filmmaker blamed “the state of the world” for the delays to the sequel. The first blow to the sequel’s development was the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a huge impact on the film industry and delayed a lot of movie and TV productions.
The filmmaker blamed “the state of the world” for the delays to the sequel.
After COVID cleared up, one of the movie’s leads injured their knee, which delayed them by around another nine months. When they recovered from the injury, the filmmakers planned a shoot in Belgrade and Croatia, but when the war in Ukraine began, a lot of Ukrainian refugees fled to Belgrade and Croatia, so there was no available accommodation for the cast and crew. They reworked the sequel for a French shoot, but a fluctuating exchange rate forced them to seek out a different tax credit state.
Why Den Of Thieves 2 Still Happened After So Much Time Passed
The First Movie Was Successful
After seven years of setbacks involving a war, a serious injury, and a global pandemic, a lot of filmmakers would just give up and move on to other projects. But the producers remained committed to making Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, even after all those delays. This is largely because the first movie was successful, so it still made sense to go back to this world again — not to mention the creative motivation that Gudegast had another story to tell.
Sheriff “Big Nick” O’Brien tracks Donnie Wilson to Europe after his daring escape. As Donnie becomes deeply involved with diamond thieves and the Panther mafia, the stakes rise with a plan to rob the world’s largest diamond exchange. The film promises intense action and suspense across international borders.
- Release Date
-
January 10, 2025
- Cast
-
Gerard Butler
, O’Shea Jackson Jr.
, Meadow Williams
, Jordan Bridges
, Evin Ahmad
, Swen Temmel
, Bob Jennings
, Michael Bisping
, Salvatore Esposito
, Orli Shuka
, Cristian Solimeno
, Nazmiye Oral
, Yasen Zates Atour
, Dino Kelly
, Rico Verhoeven
, Velibor Topic
, Antonio Bustorff
, Yuri D. Brown
, Birol Tarkan Yıldız
, John West Jr
, Ciryl Gane
, Mark Grosy
, Ignacio Herráez
, Stéphane Coulon - Director
-
Christian Gudegast
- Writers
-
Christian Gudegast
