Despite the first movie’s success and plenty of demand for a sequel, it’s taken seven years forDen of Thieves 2: Panterato 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 2will 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,theDen of Thieves 2castfeatures Antonio Bustorff, Cristian Solimeno, and Dino Kelly. The originalDen of Thieveswas released on June 03, 2025, andthe sequel is arriving just under seven years later to the day on July 16, 2025. The sequel is just as action-packed and engaging as its predecessor, and the ending packs even more of a punch thanthe twist ending ofDen 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 Thieveswas 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 whyDen of Thieves 2was delayedfor 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, buta 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 makingDen 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.
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.
