Gerard Butleris a versatile actor. One of his primary genres, however, has been in action. After making his on-screen debut in the biographical period dramaMrs. Brown, Butler was in his first action movie in a supporting role in theJames Bond movieTomorrow Never Dies. From there, he went on to play supporting roles in the 1998 genre filmsThe Tale of the MummyandFast Food. He then broke out as a genre film lead in the vampiric action horror filmDracula 2000, wherein he played the titular vampire.
Butler also led the Zack Snyder-directed historical action movie300, playing King Leonidas in the movie. This remains one of the actor’s biggest roles, but his career has also included a diversity of parts from genres outside his action roots. Butler charmed fans as the voice of Stoick in theHow to Train Your Dragonfranchiseand as romantic leads in rom-coms such asThe Ugly TruthandP.S. I Love You. Even with these departures, Butler has kept making action films, one of which acted as the start to a yet-unrealized franchise.
The Den Of Thieves 2 Director Explains Why The Movie Has Taken So Long
Den Of Thieves Came Out In 2018
TheDen of Thieves 2: Panteradirector explains why the sequel has taken so long to make. Christian Gudegast directed the 2018 action heist film, which starred Butler as detective “Big Nick” O’Brien, an LA County detective working to take down California’s most successful bank robbery crew as the criminals plan a heist on the Federal Reserve Bank. The film featured a leading cast including Pablo Schreiber, O’Shea Jackson Jr., 50 Cent, Meadow Williams, and Brian Van Holt. Thesequel filmDen of Thieves 2is set for release on January 10 and will follow a diamond heist.
In an exclusive interview withScreenRant, Gudegast reveals why it took so long to makeDen of Thieves 2. According to the director, it was"the state of the world" that prevented the Butler sequel from moving forward. These barriers included COVID-19, which struck right before the sequel was going to film originally. As the industry recovered from pandemic shutdowns and restrictions,Den of Thieves2was struck down again by an actor injury and the war in Ukraine, which ruined their filming plan. Check out the full quote from Gudegast below:
Gudegast:The state of the world. The first hit was Covid. We were just about to do it, then Covid hit, and that was that. Then we had an actor injury to their knee, one of our leads, so that took another nine months or whatever. And we were going to make it in Belgrade and Croatia, then the war hit with Ukraine and all the Ukrainians fled to Belgrade and Croatia and there were no Airbnbs or hotels to house the crew. Then, it was going to be France, and then the exchange rate got messed up for us and we had to go to a different tax credit state. We had many, many… just the realities of production these days.
Our Take On The Den Of Thieves Delays
Delays Have Been Common In Recent Years
If these challenges were not hard enough, theSAG-AFTRA and WGA strike also took place in 2023, which could have caused an additional barrier to their production. These kinds of delays have affected countless other films, includingWicked, which was finally released this year. AsDen of Thieves 2: Panterahits theaters next month, it will be interesting to see whether the action film can still hold viewers' attention years later.
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.
