Den of Thieves 2: Panterais a heist thriller sequel six years in the making. Written and directed by Christian Gudegast, the movie once again tells the intersecting stories of Sheriff “Big Nick” O’Brien (Gerard Butler)and enterprising thief Donnie Wilson (O’Shea Jackson, Jr.) and is set to follow the first film’s precedent of spending near equal time with each character. While set in the modern day, the story drew inspiration from the 2003 Antwerp diamond heist, just as the first film was influenced by a plot to rob the Federal Reserve.
Butler’s return to the heist thriller franchise comes in the middle of a diverse string of projects for the actor. It will be the first film the actor releases since his re-entry to the world of musicals as Santa Claus in the animated movieThe Night Before Christmas in Wonderland.Another of Butler’s upcoming projects will see the actor bringing the animated character Stoick the Vast to three dimensions in the live-action adaptation ofHow to Train Your Dragon.Check out the latest trailer forDen of Thieves 2: Panterabelow:
Screen Rantspoke with Gerard Butler about his return as Sherriff “Big Nick” O’Brien. Butler discussed working with his fellowDen of Thieves 2: Panteracastmember O’Shea Jackson Jr., where audiences pick up with Nick at the beginning of the movie, and how the sequel’s story builds on the original’s. He also praised the director’s attention to detail and ability to balance realism with humor and adventure.
Gerard Butler Shares His Excitement About Returning For Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera
The Den Of Thieves Sequel Goes “To New Levels And New Heights”
Screen Rant: There was a six-year gap betweenDen of Thievesand the sequel. What was the most exciting thing to you about coming back to this franchise?
Gerard Butler: I have a lot of affection for this franchise, and especially “Big Nick” O’Brien. I found him endlessly entertaining and fun to grapple with. There’s so much going on with him, and [there was] a chance to have Big Nick take a break, even from himself. We know he’s unpredictable, but this is really taking it to new levels. He’s so rough around the edges and he can be so brutal, and yet there’s also a surprising vulnerability to him.
Then you place him against Donnie who, in the first movie, he kind of bullied and took for granted. He did not realize that Donnie was the great mastermind that he is. Now we’re on level terms and Big Nick is pissed off and hunting Donnie down. I thought that whole concept gave us a lot of sculpt to take the movie to new levels and new heights, with a lot of scope for humor, emotion, brotherhood, distrust, skepticism—all of it.
I truly love this movie. It kind of takes its time at the beginning, getting the set-up, and by the time you get to the end, with all these twists, turns, surprises, and emotion, [it] really feels like an epic adventure. It feels so much richer in its narrative, its characters, its scope, its stunts, its action, and its emotion than any heist movie I’ve seen.
Butler Talks Relationship Dynamics And Nick’s “Haunted” State Of Mind
The Actor Also Hypes Up The Partnership Between His Character & O’Shea Jackson’s Donnie Wilson
The first time we see Big Nick on screen, he doesn’t seem to be where he wants to be in life at that moment. What can you say about his state of mind at the start of the movie?
Gerard Butler: I don’t think Nick has ever truly been in a great state of mind. I think he’s haunted by a lot of personal demons and family struggles. But at the beginning of this movie, I felt very connected to that and sorry for him because he actually did his best work. He was particularly brilliant in the last heist, and yet he came out humiliated and sidelined. In the middle of that he got a divorce, so he’s broke, he’s down, and he’s not in the best place. He’s a bit washed out.
But I also find that the very person that helped destroy him is also the person that keeps him ticking. Donnie keeps him alive, because Donnie gives him a reason and a purpose. I love that sense of him opening up when he realizes there’s a possibility to close in on Donnie. It’s a really fun thing, waiting for them to collide.
There’s a moment in the trailer where Nick tells Donnie he wants to work with him. What can you say about how that impacts their relationship in this movie?
Gerard Butler: I think it leads to a very entertaining, fascinating and rich dynamic between them. There are so many unanswered questions and a fascination and curiosity between them. We played this game of cat and mouse and now suddenly we’re together and I’m saying, “Donnie, I want to do this with you. I’m sick and tired of doing the s*** that I do and not being appreciated.”
But what does that lead to? Because Donnie’s kind of forced into that situation and now he’s got a bull in a china shop, and that’s not his particular way of working. It’s a very tense and funny dynamic. I think if Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Odd Couple had a baby, that would be Nick and Donnie’s relationship.
I loved working with O’Shea on that first movie. He’s so talented, interesting, and unpredictable, and yet there’s a real truth and humanity to him. There’s also a humanity to me as I play characters, and a very interesting aspect of the Den of Thieves movies is that gray area between good and bad. Donnie’s in some ways the villain, but he’s so lovable and you understand his code, and “Big Nick” has been the hero, but sometimes he’s quite a disgusting human being. The dynamic between us, I think, is infinitely watchable, and you could take it in so many directions, but I love the direction that we took it in this movie.
Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera Pits Gerard Butler Against O’Shea Jackson Jr. In New Poster
Exclusive: Screen Rant presents the Den of Thieves 2: Pantera poster, highlighting the returns of franchise stars Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr.
More Humor Was Injected Into Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera’s Script
The First Draft Of Den Of Thieves 2 Was “Quite Serious”
I knew from seeing the trailers that this was going to be intense and serious. You are also really funny in this, though, and there are a lot of jokes at Nick’s expense. Did it feel important to keep moments of humor and levity in there?
Gerard Butler: For sure, it was important to have humor in this movie, because the first movie—much as it was gripping and suspenseful—at times felt a little bit heavy. This was like, “Okay, the two of them could go on a working holiday, actually have more fun, and go to Europe.” It’s a fun ride. You put these two characters together, Nick O’Brien and Donnie Wilson, and you don’t want to just get bogged down.
In fact, that’s something we had in the initial draft. It was quite serious, and we very quickly became engaged in the doing of the act itself. And the doing of the act is so sophisticated and interesting, and alone would be a great movie, but what’s brilliant about this movie is that on top of that, we have this great relationship that has so many colors and especially humor between the two of them. Donnie’s so used to being controlled and working his own thing, and as much as Nick is brilliant and instinctual, he’s also out of control.
Going To Europe Helped Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera Go Bigger Than The First
Butler Teases That The Den Of Thieves Sequel “Is So Much Bigger In Scope”
Do you have a favorite part about getting to bring this story to Europe?
Gerard Butler: Part of it was just me getting to play “Big Nick”, who’s already kind of an outrageous and fun character, and then putting him in Europe against that culture. [It’s] the culture of “Big Nick” O’Brien against the culture of Europe, and him operating within the more suave, sophisticated side of France, and the underworld. How does he crisscross and rub up against the bad guys and the good guys?
It was also Europe itself, because the last movie was all in LA. It was pretty contained. This movie is so much bigger in scope. The locations are stunningly beautiful. You have mountains, the ocean, these beautiful European towns, and the more gritty streets of Marseille. It’s yet another color to this movie that makes it all the more enjoyable.
Butler Reflects On The Sequel’s Balance Between Realism & Adventure
“You Could Watch This Movie And Be Able To Take Down A Diamond Exchange”
I read that this was inspired by the 2003 Antwerp diamond heist. Was there anything about that that you all were keeping in mind while making the movie?
Gerard Butler: That would be as much a question for Christian, because Christian is the most meticulous researcher and writer I’ve met, times 10. During the writing of the script and preparing, he was on the phone every day sending me videos and explaining things at almost brain-explosive detail. Then it’s always, I feel, my job to pull him back a bit. What’s brilliant about the movie is the genius, the sophistication, and how it never lets itself off the hook at any point—from security measures, to the preparation, to the roads, to the 3D printing. You could watch this movie and be able to take down a diamond exchange.
At the same time, we managed to also have this adventure between these two guys who are getting to know each other, working each other out, and making each other crazy. [That’s along] with the Balkan Mafia—the Panthers—the Corsican mafia, the French police… there are so many different colors and layers, and, funnily enough, the background to that is the heist.
More About Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera (2025)
Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr. return in the sequel to 2018’s action-heist hit Den of Thieves. In Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, “Big Nick” (Butler) is back on the hunt in Europe and closing in on Donnie (Jackson), who is embroiled in the treacherous and unpredictable world of diamond thieves and the infamous Panther mafia, as they plot a massive heist of the world’s largest diamond exchange.
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera
Cast
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.
