‘Den of Thieves 2: Pantera’s Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr.

Opening in theaters on January 10th is the follow up to 2018’s action classic ‘Den of Thieves’, entitled ‘Den of Thieves 2: Pantera’, which is once again written and directed by Christian Gudegast.

The movie features Gerard Butler (‘Law Abiding Citizen’) and O’Shea Jackson Jr. (‘Straight Outta Compton’) reprising their roles as Big Nick and Donnie, respectively, but also includes new cast members Evin Ahmed (‘Girls of the Sun’), Michael Bisping (‘XXX: Return of Xander Cage’), and Salvatore Esposito (‘Fargo’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of sitting down in-person with Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr. to talk about their work on ‘Den of Thieves 2: Pantera’, what fans of the original can expect from the new sequel, the incredible action sequences and how Jackson portrayed Donnie this time around.

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Gerard Butler as ‘Big Nick’ O’Brien in ‘Den of Thieves 2: Pantera’. Photo Credit: Rico Torres for Lionsgate.

Moviefone: To begin with, Gerard, what would you say to fans of the first movie sitting down in a theater right now to watch the sequel to prepare them for the theatrical experience they are about to have?

Gerard Butler: Well, I wouldn’t say anything if they’re about to sit down and have the theatrical experience because I wouldn’t want to mess it up. That’s for real because I think this is delicious, fun, enjoyable, and everything is turned up a notch, and yet it doesn’t get away from the tension and the reality and the danger that is in there. But it has a lot of fun too, right? We kind of went, what could we do now? Let’s see these guys together more and let’s see them on the same side. There are a lot of great places to go. But if you were literally about to sit down, I’d go, “I’m just going to shut up and let you enjoy the experience because there’s a great amount of experience to be enjoyed.”

MF: O’Shea, what would you say to add to that and hype the film up for audiences?

O’Shea Jackson Jr.: I mean, we all know what it’s like to sit down for a sequel of a movie that we loved the first one, and it’s kind of a feeling you have when you’re like, “Man, here it is. Part two is happening.” When you see the title card, it’s like, “Man, I’m really in it.” We had our audience wait quite a long bit, letting them rewatch and get ready again. But what I love about this one, a lot of the times with sequels, there’s a lot of, you’re playing the jokes that you might’ve saw in the first one, but this one is all fresh and new and it shows you the characters that you know, and they still have the traits that you know, but they’re bigger and they’re put onto a bigger and wider display. There is just something about having us team up. When I first heard Christian tell me that the team-up was happening, I was like, “Oh man, the can of worms is open now.” The directions are all over the place. It becomes a much bigger story and a much bigger experience for you guys.

O’Shea Jackson Jr as Donnie Wilson in ‘Den of Thieves 2: Pantera’. Photo Credit: Rico Torres for Lionsgate.

MF: Gerard, the Benihana sequence in ‘Den of Thieves’ is one of the most iconic scenes from the first movie. Is there a scene, set piece or action sequence in the sequel that you are really excited for fans to watch?

Gerard Butler: Oh. God, we have so many good scenes in this movie, but since what I do think as well as the great action and all that, but the centerpiece of this movie is really him and I together. It’s so much fun and everybody I know who’s seen the movie, they all come out going, “Those guys are great together.” I think the scene when we finally meet up, when I’ve kind of found my way into his house and we have a very nice dinner together and a few things are explained and a few things are revealed, that was an awesome scene. It was a great fun scene to play. It turned out great in the movie and it is the start. It’s really, I think where the movie kind of takes off and launches into another stratosphere.

MF: Finally, in the first film, Donnie is really pretending to be someone else through most of the movie. O’Shea, now that Big Nick and the audience know who Donnie really is, what was it like playing the character this time around?

O’Shea Jackson Jr.: It was refreshing. It kind of felt like when you get off a long day at work and you get to get comfortable in your house clothes, because it allowed me to have new things, new challenges for the character. It allowed me, as a performer, to learn more about the character and help him spread his wings a little bit. I’ve said this before, but in ‘Den of Thieves’, that was my third movie ever. So, I had the same kind of feeling of just wanting to keep my head down, do my job, get a positive approval, and then move on. With this one, I’m much more comfortable, I feel much more set into my ways as an actor and I feel like that comes out on the screen.

What is the plot of ‘Den of Thieves 2: Pantera’?

Immediately following the events of ‘Den of Thieves’, sheriff “Big Nick” O’Brien (Gerard Butler) is tracking down Donnie Wilson (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), who escaped to Europe and is planning another heist.

Who is in the cast of ‘Den of Thieves 2: Pantera’?

(L to R) O’Shea Jackson Jr. as Donnie Wilson and Gerard Butler as ‘Big Nick’ O’Brien in ‘Den of Thieves 2: Pantera’. Photo Credit: Rico Torres.

Other Gerard Butler Action Movies:

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