‘Den of Thieves 2′ Director Talks Sequel’s Many Setbacks and Potential Threequel: “It’s Already Pitched”

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Den of Thieves 2: Pantera writer-director Christian Gudegast has the patience of a saint. 

The 2018 movie “Den of Thieves,” featuring Gerard Butler, O’Shea Jackson Jr., and Pablo Schreiber, finally made it to theaters after a long journey of 15 years, navigating through bankruptcy at Relatively Media and numerous other challenges. This potential franchise starter, though receiving mixed reviews, eventually turned into a moderate box office hit, earning more than $80 million on a budget of just $30 million. However, it was the home video market and an enthusiastic social media following that boosted its popularity significantly. Gudegast is thankful for this audience, but he emphasizes that plans for the sequel were already underway before their support.

The production for “Den of Thieves 2” started in February 2018. Director Gudegast, similar to filmmakers Taylor Sheridan and Jeremy Saulnier, extensively researched real-world laws, loopholes, and incidents to base his fictional story on. Unfortunately, as the production was about to start in 2020, the pandemic occurred, causing delays, along with complications from Butler’s physical recovery after the shutdown. In February 2022, filming had to be postponed once more due to their Croatia/Serbia locations being impacted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They then attempted to move to France but found it too costly, eventually settling on Tenerife, Spain as a less expensive alternative.

Gudegast shared with The Hollywood Reporter that we encountered numerous production challenges, which were truly formidable. In contrast, the script seemed relatively straightforward compared to the complexities we faced during production.

As a result, “Den of Thieves 2” has hit theaters, almost exactly seven years since the first film was debuted. The plot progresses by two years, with Butler’s character “Big Nick” continuing his pursuit of Donnie’s (Jackson) criminal activities abroad. However, Gudegast introduces an unexpected twist as Big Nick decides to join forces with Donnie for a chance to amass wealth himself. This unconventional pair then plots to rob the World Diamond Center in Nice, France – a plot point that Gudegast had hoped to keep secret.

The studios create the trailers, and I personally prefer brief teasers over those that reveal too much about the plot. However, it’s commonly believed that revealing more helps promote a movie and increase sales. So, the final decision is left to the marketing experts, and you have to trust they know what they’re doing.” (Gudegast admits)

If Gudegast’s sequel is successful, he has prepared the groundwork such that a third installment could follow more quickly than the two films that have been previously released.

[A third installment] has been proposed. It’s all set up and ready. We’re eager to move forward,” Gudegast expresses, adding that “we have a great sense of confidence in it.

In their latest chat with THR, Gudegast explains why the movie doesn’t continue from Den of Thieves’ cliffhanger in London and also touches upon the reason behind Mack’s absence in the storyline.

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Were you and Gerard Butler collaborators on the 2016 film “London Has Fallen”? At any stage during this collaboration, did you propose the long-developed project “Den of Thieves” to him?

Before the production of “London Has Fallen,” he had already read the script for “Den of Thieves.” Interestingly, “Den of Thieves” almost came first, but Relativity Media faced financial difficulties, which delayed its progress. During this period, “London” was made instead. So, he had read “Den” before “London,” and it was during this time that we first connected. Afterward, I collaborated with him on “London,” and following the resolution of the bankruptcy situation at Relativity Media, we proceeded to film “Den” at a different studio.

The film “Den of Thieves” performed well in theaters, but it truly flourished when it was released for home viewing, thanks to positive word of mouth. It’s a movie that people seem to enjoy watching again and again. Could the increased audience after its theater release have been instrumental in securing a sequel?

It definitely didn’t cause any harm, that much is certain. Of course, we had ideas for follow-ups, but Den of Thieves needed to achieve a certain level of success first.

Thus, when you included the London coda in the first film, you’d already charted a course?

Absolutely, I delve deeply into research for projects like Den, and during my exploration of its intricate heist possibilities, I uncovered an abundance of fascinating material. Initially, we aimed to incorporate all this data into the script, but found ourselves limited by available space. We realized that we had laid the foundation for more tales within the same universe. As a result, when constructing Den, I was confident we’d move forward to Den 2 and beyond. The goal was to examine significant heists from various global locations and develop these franchise characters across each heist, creating an ongoing series. In essence, the plan was to expand the storyline deliberately from the outset.

As a huge fan, I have to say that your first movie came out kind of under the radar, but with the second one, there was a lot more anticipation and scrutiny. So, could you tell me about the challenges you faced when writing the script for the sequel?

The script wasn’t hard at all, it was actually enjoyable, but it required extensive time as I had to travel globally to gather research for it. The trouble wasn’t with the scriptwriting, but rather the production process. We were preparing to start filming when Covid-19 struck. After recovering from Covid, we were ready to resume production, but then one of our main actors [Gerard Butler] sustained a serious injury. This setback added another 9 to 10 months. Initially, we planned to shoot in Croatia and Serbia, but the war in Ukraine occurred, forcing us to leave that region as everyone from Ukraine was going there instead. We found no accommodations for our crew due to the lack of hotels or Airbnbs available. Later, we moved to France, but the exchange rate fluctuated and the tax incentive didn’t pan out. Eventually, we settled in Tenerife. In summary, the production process presented numerous challenges, making it a tough journey compared to the ease of writing the script. [Writer’s Note: Butler has since disclosed that he filmed Den of Thieves 2 with a recently injured ACL. His injuries were a result of a motorcycle accident in 2017.]

As a game developer, if I knew for certain that there’d be a sequel to my game, I’d definitely plan and design the first game more strategically to make the development of the second one smoother. For instance, I might create a more modular game engine, establish a consistent art style, or even lay groundwork for future storylines to save time in the sequel’s development process.

No, not really. You just try to make them all unique unto themselves.

Has it been seven real years since the last movie, and two fictional ones between the two storylines? Could this time difference be the reason why the narrative didn’t continue directly from the point left off in London?

In the storyline, there’s a significant connection: the package Donny pilfers at the film’s outset, which was intended for the London Diamond Exchange, is a minor aspect that might go unnoticed by many viewers. Originally, this scene was set in London, but due to practical production constraints, we couldn’t find an appropriate location. As a result, we shifted it to the context of what are known as ‘Africa flights’, specifically Antwerp. Today, movie production has evolved such that films are no longer shot on-location; instead, they are produced in tax havens, and our movie was no exception – this change necessitated script adjustments to suit our filming location.

In the sequel, Donnie’s friend, Mack (Cooper Andrews), isn’t present. Have you ever found out why they had a falling out or what might have happened between them?

Originally, he was included in the script, but due to practicalities involved in filming, most of his scenes had to be cut. There’s often a balance between what the script calls for and where you can actually film a scene. This influences the production process, and it’s a common occurrence. As a result, there was a lot of revising, refining, and adjusting the script based on our shooting schedule and location.

In the promotion of the movie, it was shown that Nick (Butler) joins forces with Donnie (Jackson Jr.). Essentially, a cop transforms into a gangster. Did you approve of this decision when you first heard about it, or did you prefer to discover that twist on your own while watching the film?

This question presents quite a dilemma. Movie studios create trailers, and personally, I lean towards teasers that don’t reveal too much about the storyline. However, it’s often believed that revealing more helps promote a film and increase sales. Ultimately, these decisions are in the hands of marketing experts, so you just have to trust they know what they’re doing. As for my preferences, I’m not representative of the majority, but I prefer trailers with less plot detail.

In the movie “Den of Thieves,” the plot centers around robbers attempting to steal money that is deemed unfit for circulation and scheduled for destruction. Interestingly, this procedure does indeed occur in reality within the Federal Reserve system.

It is.

Did you manage to discover any genuine details about the heist at the Diamond Center in Den of Thieves 2?

All the scenes in the movie were meticulously crafted using genuine details. I personally traveled to Europe for several months with the leaders of the diamond police force. They were present throughout our filming process, ensuring that every aspect of the movie mirrored actual diamond heists. This included various incidents and intricate details, so we selected elements from multiple real-life heists. I collaborated extensively with investigators and individuals involved in both the criminal underworld and law enforcement agencies. We even had actual thieves on set to help us get the details just right. As a result, every aspect of the movie was thoroughly researched and carefully planned based on authentic heists.

For example, some thieves had mastered the art of timing their crimes precisely when surveillance cameras or security monitors in a specific area were not recording. This allowed them to move undetected through blind spots for extended periods. It took investigators a considerable amount of time and effort to determine these timings, but they managed to do so with remarkable accuracy. When we witnessed the investigation’s findings and the extent of their abilities, it left us utterly astonished.

In your earlier discussion, you brought up the topic of revising scenes to fit production requirements. I’m curious, how significantly did the location scouting impact Den 2‘s heist sequences in the original script?

The robberies didn’t undergo significant alterations. It was crucial to execute them as outlined in the script, with the script determining where we aimed during the shoot. However, every film encounters such challenges: production schedules, the number of days allotted for filming, location choices, and so on. We filmed almost everything exclusively at real locations, and unless you’re creating sets from scratch, you must venture out into the world to discover settings that correspond to what was written.

When investigating and documenting events similar to these heists, I physically visit the sites where they occurred. I take pictures and compile a visual reference guide, or lookbook. At the start of film production, I present this lookbook to the location managers, stating, “This scene should resemble this image exactly.” They then search for locations that match my description. This way, when we filmed the two major heists in our movie, we were able to find very accurate matches.

As a die-hard fan, I can’t help but get excited about an amazing car chase featuring a sleek Porsche! It seems that, similar to the destruction of money in the first film, they were planning to write off several of their Taycan models in this scene.

(Laughs.) Right.

But you were able to scoop them up first? 

Indeed, there were five Porsche Taycan models that were no longer roadworthy, and their owners couldn’t use them for anything else. Given the intricate engineering involved, they decided to discard them instead. However, we managed to acquire these vehicles. Porsche then joined forces with us as partners, and we undertook a complete overhaul of these five cars to suit our needs for that shootout. Specifically, we wanted the driver to be seated in a cockpit on the car’s roof, which had never been accomplished before using an electric vehicle. While it has been done with conventional gasoline-powered vehicles, replicating this setup with an electric car presented unique challenges. As a result, they had to reroute all the controls of the car to the rooftop, enabling us to film the driver while being very close to the action and maintaining a loose shooting style within the vehicle.

As a gamer immersed in the action, I can tell you that navigating those treacherous roads was out of the question for our actor. It would have been too risky to film with him behind the wheel. Thus, we brought in a stunt driver, but here’s the twist – usually, when a stunt driver is at the wheel, they can’t have cameras inside the car, and you can only film one actor at a time. However, we wanted multiple actors in the car, and to achieve that, our heroic stunt driver had to be on top of the car, not behind it. Porsche, being the amazing brand they are, made it happen after countless months of planning and coordination. Their engineers from both Germany and North America were right there on set, making it all the more surreal. We managed to film it in this unique way only because they pulled off this incredible feat.

Were Nick and Donnie’s backstories also based on research and real accounts? 

Indeed, the monologues you see were developed from research I carried out for the first installment of “Den“, and then I incorporated those narratives into the second part. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a suitable spot for them in the original, but I managed to find a fitting space in the sequel, “Den 2“.

In many instances, heist films are likened to the art of movie-making due to their shared need for a skilled team to execute seemingly impossible tasks. Have there been any moments when you felt as though you’ve successfully executed your own ‘heist’ in your line of work?

It turns out our production schedule was quite robust, but we could’ve benefited from an additional 10 to 15 days. The final heist, particularly inside the elevator shaft of the World Diamond Center and into the vault, presented some unexpected difficulties. We also encountered problems during the car shootout sequence. Location-wise, there were several hurdles. For instance, we had a three-and-a-half-kilometer-long tunnel to film one scene, which translated to about 50 to 60 seconds of footage. Unfortunately, we lost that location just four days before filming was scheduled to begin, forcing us to find an alternative location in a hurry. The replacement tunnel offered only seven seconds of space, making it a race against time as we filmed – action, cut, action, cut – with actors often having to stop mid-scene because we’d exit the tunnel. Needless to say, this was quite a challenge.

This town loves trilogies, so could you pitch a threequel tomorrow if you had to? 

It’s already pitched. It’s already done. We’re ready to go. 

Should I knock on wood? 

We’re feeling very good about it. But, sure, knock on wood. It doesn’t hurt.

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Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is now playing in movie theaters. 

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2025-01-11 01:26