The heist movie “Den of Thieves” opened in 2018 to so-so reviews and a marginal performance in the box office, grossing about $80 million worldwide. But when it landed on Netflix, the film found a wider audience and enough buzz to inspire the producers to create a sequel seven years later.
“Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” lands in theaters on Friday, Jan. 10.
“There was this second surge,” said O’Shea Jackson Jr., who was in Atlanta with co-star Gerard Butler and spoke with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the Four Seasons in Midtown. “It became a bit like a cult classic. We now have a bigger fan base that can hopefully bring in new fans when this one comes out.”
This sequel’s timeline begins soon after the first one ended. Jackson’s character, the enigmatic Donnie Wilson, a former Marine who is now a thief with charm and quiet confidence, had absconded with a ridiculous amount of cash from the Federal Reserve, money earmarked for shredding. Donnie was clearly rich enough to never have to steal again. But alas, he quickly landed in Europe targeting a diamond exchange and pulling off yet another heist.
Butler plays a character that it not unfamiliar to viewers: the slightly unhinged, macho detective who can’t believe Donnie fooled him in the first film. Seeking revenge, Big Nick convinces his bosses to allow him to fly to Europe to chase down Donnie. He then somehow convinces Donnie that he is gone dirty and helps him swipe a gargantuan load of diamonds.
The two are classic opposites “who need each other to exist,” said Butler. “We make each other crazy, but we kind of complement each other. Although there is a lack of trust between the two of them, they are curious about each other, and a surprising bond develops. It’s part ‘Lethal Weapon,’ part ‘The Odd Couple.’”
But as Jackson said, his character is difficult to read, a true chameleon who can use accents and guile to get what he wants. “He has skills,” Jackson said. “We haven’t seen all of them yet. We aren’t even sure his name is Donnie.”
Credit: Rico Torres for Lionsgate
Credit: Rico Torres for Lionsgate
Better for Jackson, Donnie doesn’t get constantly beaten up by Big Nick as he did in the first movie. Instead, they talk ― a lot.
“Big Nick is able to open up and be vulnerable with Donnie,” Butler said.
Jackson said the first movie was “rough. I hated all the fake blood. It’s sticky, goopy. It dries and scabs on you. This time was much cleaner. I got to wear nice suits and drive a Porsche Taycan Turbo while Gerard is shooting a machine gun out the window. This is the life!”
Big Nick is deeply out of his element in a world where he has trouble properly pronouncing “croissant.”
“He isn’t necessarily steering the ship this time,” Butler said. “He has to bow down or pay much more attention to others and work as a team. He also has to maneuver through a treacherous underworld.”
Back in 2017, the original “Den of Thieves” was shot largely in metro Atlanta masquerading as Los Angeles.
Both Jackson and Butler are well familiar with Georgia. Jackson’s résumé includes “Godzilla: God of the Monsters” and the gripping legal drama “Just Mercy,” both shot in the state and released in 2019, while Butler spent time in Atlanta shooting the Amazon Prime disaster flick “Greenland” (2020) and underrated action thriller “Copshop” (2021).
Jackson said he absorbed two things while in Atlanta: “Coca-Cola and cholesterol. AJ’s Fish and Wings. Shout out to that lemon pepper seasoning! When you get out of work at 11 p.m. or 2 in the morning, the only things that are open are Waffle House and trouble!”
The sequel was set in very different setting: the Canary Islands in Spain. “It’s like Spain’s Hawaii,” he said. “We made it look like Nice, France.”
Credit: Rico Torres/Lionsgate
Credit: Rico Torres/Lionsgate
If the second film gets a strong enough positive reaction, “Den of Thieves” has franchise potential that could cause it to land on multiple continents like the “Fast and the Furious” series of films, Butler said.
“I want a heist movie in Japan so bad,” Jackson said. “Just think of the shots they could get, how dope it could be!”
IF YOU GO
“Den of Thieves 2: Pantera”
In theaters Friday, Jan. 10
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