Cowboys from hell head to Europe for Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera, which begins shooting this spring
The Gerard-issance continues as Den Of Thieves 2 finally moves forward
After four years of building a cult following on cable and DVD, Den Of Thieves is finally getting a sequel. Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera, the follow-up to what can only be described as “Heat with a concussion,” is set to begin shooting this spring in Serbia and France, per Deadline.
In the sequel, Gerard Butler will revive his whiskey-swilling character Big Nick, contaminating crime scenes across Europe, likely while mouthing the words to Pantera’s “Walk” and screaming “Are you talkin’ to me?” at whoever gets in his way. After wading through a rom-com phase following his 300 break out, Butler finally figured out now that he’s our foremost scumbag character actor, and few movies exemplify that better than Den Of Thieves. LASD detective Big Nick is a hangover incarnate, and he’s looking for whoever wronged him/took his money/looked at him the wrong way.
Here’s the synopsis of Pantera according to Deadline:
Butler returns as Big Nick, this time on the hunt in Europe for Donnie (Jackson Jr.) who is embroiled in the dangerous world of diamond thieves and the infamous Panther mafia as they plot a massive heist of the world’s biggest diamond exchange.
The rest of the principal cast is returning as well, including Straight Outta Compton star O’Shea Jackson Jr, Meadow Williams, and Swen Temmel. 50 Cent, who played ex-Marine Enson Levoux, will be returning as a producer—though it’s hard to imagine a Den Of Thieves that doesn’t include Enson Levoux.
Writer-director Christian Gudegast will be returning, too. And it seems he’s up to his old tricks again. Deadline reports that “has researched for the project by spending time with notorious thieves and the investigators that hunt them.” That’s how you know it’s going to be really f’ed up.
Though a moderate hit upon release, Den Of Thieves’s reputation has grown in recent years, being that it’s perhaps the best Saturday-afternoon Hollywood action movie to come around in some time. Grossing $80 million worldwide in a non-pandemic box office isn’t Marvel money, but it’s enough to leave fans clamoring for a sequel. Honestly, whatever gets Butler dropping variations of F-bombs as he chomps on a cigar is good enough for this writer.