The Oral History of the ‘Den of Thieves 2: Pantera’ Trailer

Thieves’ Den is getting a sequel. That’s right: the 2018 heist film starring Gerard Butler as the hard-drinking, morally questionable Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Detective “Big Nick” O’Brien has spawned a franchise. If you know anything about The Bell or the people who work there The Bellthen you will understand how incredibly important this is to us. This could as well be the Super Bowl.

Den of Thieves 2: Panterais not, as I mistakenly thought when I read the title too quickly, about robbers who hold up a chain of bakery cafés. Nor does it have anything to do with the metal band. The action film, which hits theaters on January 10, is named after something relevant to the plot. I’ll let writer-director Christian Gudegast explain: “It comes very specifically from the name of the task force tasked with tracking down the thieves responsible for a series of robberies across Europe committed by a group known as the Pink Panthers, or Panther Mafia, who largely hail from the Balkan region of Eastern Europe.” In Spanish, “pantera” means “panther.” The multinational team set out to stop the gang, Gudegast adds, “was called Task Force Pantera.”

All this to say: Thieves’ Den 2 is about an international jewel heist. O’Shea Jackson Jr.’s character, Donnie Wilson, the secret mastermind from the first installment, is part of a team that plans to rob the World Diamond Center. (Yeah, bro.) Only this time around, it looks like Big Nick is switching teams and joining the criminal side. (YEAH, bro.)

We miraculously got our hands on the first trailer for Panther this week. To us, this teaser is as valuable as $30 million in old, unsuitable bills. And for that reason, we’re giving it the editorial equivalent of the Criterion treatment: an oral history.

Tucker Tooley (producer): Look, we’re blessed with both our friendship and our relationship with Gerry. He’s one of the few movie stars who gets greenlit for movies. And he’s busy because he can be and because he loves it, and so you have to stand in line and wait. And then COVID comes on top of that.

Christian Gudegast (writer-director): I would make this movie called Aeroplane with Gerry, and then he said, “Okay, let’s do it Aeroplane, but we will do it The immediately after that.” I then think: “Well, then I can’t do it Aeroplane.”So then I didn’t do it Aeroplane because we are going to do TheBut then he did it anyway Kandahar after that. And before you know it, it’s already three years later. That’s just the way it goes.

Tools: Relatively speaking, yes. It took a lot longer than we wanted, but compared to some of the films I’ve done, even the first TheWhat took 10 years, this was a less tumultuous path.

Alan Siegel (Producer): We’ve been waiting for this for six years and now we’re delivering something that not only lives up to the first film but surprises them in ways they didn’t expect. It’s a triumphant return and a thrill to be back in this world.

(Editor’s Note: This Alan Siegel is different than the Alan Siegel who wrote this article. This Alan Siegel is Manager and production partner of Gerard ButlerThe other Alan Siegel can’t approve your script.)

Good guest: Sure, we’ve had (a sequel) in mind from the beginning. Just because in the research for the very first part, which was a while ago now, but also this part, they’re all based on real robberies. And during the research — diving really, really deep into the world of robberies and bank robbers and thieves all over the world — we discovered all sorts of great robberies.

And it’s all in the details. The details are amazing and fascinating, how they actually do it and why they do it and the kind of people who do it. For bank robbers, it’s not about the money at all. I know that sounds ridiculous, but it’s really not. For some of the people they take on, it is. They crave structure in their lives and it gives them a reason to exist. It gives them purpose and a goal. And they make it difficult, so it takes time. It’s like getting a black belt in martial arts. It takes forever. The big shots go for these heists that seem impossible and insane, and they pull them off.

Tools: It’s funny, because when we showed the film, people were like, “Yeah, that’s where you left reality and went into fiction.” We were like, “No. Never really. Down to the details, that’s what happened.”

Good guest: This one that’s in it Room 2 was based on what was known as the flawless robbery. The World Diamond Centre in Europe. It was just so meticulously done. And we had on our set, writing the script and filming it, both the guys from the criminal side who were involved in the robbery and the guys from the law enforcement side. So the lead investigator was with us the whole time. So what you’ll see in the film is an exceptionally accurate depiction of how it was actually done.

(Editor’s note: The real World Diamond Centre is spelled the European way.)

Chris Ryan (Thieves’ Den correspondent, The Bell): I would like to be involved in a rebranding campaign for the World Diamond Centre. I think they are pushing themselves into a corner here.

Tools: The first visual impression of your film is incredibly important. Audiences are socialized to get 20 pieces of content before a film, including outdoor advertising and a poster. In the past, it might have been a teaser, a trailer, and that was it, and then your TV spots. Now, it’s much more than that.

Good guest: I love trailers. Sometimes trailers were the best part of going to the movies, you know what I mean? But for me, the trailers that left the biggest impression on me were, like, The Appearance. Best trailer ever. The elevator door, and the blood starts pouring out in slow-mo, and it splatters all over the furniture. That’s it. To me, the trailers that tell the whole story are less interesting. I like trailers that evoke a mood and a feeling. If I think it feels cool, I don’t give a damn what it’s about.

Tools: Everyone knows the trailer moments.

Good guest: You could say it while you’re filming. We’ll have like, “trailer moment” after a take of some kind, a shot, or the way someone delivered something, or a look or whatever. It gives a little boost to the day. “Well, that was pretty badass.”

What are the Den of Thieves 2: Pantera trailer’s trailer moments? I’m going with Big Nick pointing a gun at Donnie and saying, “You’re not a killer. I am.” And also Donnie saying with some surprise, “And the cop becomes a gangster.”

Good guest: It all fits (Nick’s) persona. That’s what both Room 1 and real Room 2 explores. The line between cop and criminal is sometimes almost invisible. They’re the same type of guy. Life circumstances have led them to one or the other. They’re very, very similar types of people. And that’s what’s interesting. Think of any industry: Hollywood, real estate, doctors, lawyers. You all know each other. The same goes for cops and criminals. One exists only without the other.

Yes, that is true. To be honest, this had 100 percent less “Pantera” in it than I expected. Also, I’m just so proud that America’s contribution to transatlantic cultural exchange now includes a Big Nick chapter.

Good guest: The idea is to have constant movement with the franchise, which is what we’re going to do with (Thieves’ Den) 3. We’re going to another world.

Interviews have been edited and shortened for clarity.