Gerard Butler's Action Heist 'Den of Thieves' Loses Original Producer for Sequel

Gerard Butler solidified his position in Hollywood as an action-flick leading man when he rocked everyone's world in 300. He's been keeping a steady line of testosterone-fueled films pouring into the box office and streaming services, like the Olympus Has Fallen series. His edgy cop drama, Den of Thieves was also pretty successful considering it wasn't a superhero movie, racking in some $80 million at the box office. So folks assumed there would be a sequel.

For a relatively low-budget action flick about grizzled police officers toting guns, Den of Thieves earned an impressive amount of money, but apparently the production studio that put out the Gerard Butler-led film didn't think it was enough to get a part deux out on screens.

The news was puzzling and disappointing to fans of the first movie, because it seemed like another installment was on the horizon.

In fact, a screenplay was already set in place for Den of Thieves: Pantera, but without a production studio backing the movie, its future seemed suspect.

That is, until Sierra/Affinity swooped in to save the day, ensuring that Gerard will be returning in the role of Big Nick Flanagan, who is the head the LA County Sheriff's office.

The premise of the sequel doesn't stray too far from the original. Big Nick and his crew are on the hunt for a group of bank robbers who are really, really good at their jobs. Bad news for the villains though: so is Nick and his gang of hardened officers.

In Pantera, the team heads over to Europe in search of the heist masters to put a stop to their criminal activity.

Nick's ultimate goal in the sequel is the capture of Donnie, played by O'Shea Jackson Jr., who has found himself possibly in over his head as he gets tangled up with the Pantera mafia who are heavily involved with the murky and dangerous world of diamond thieves. The crooks are plotting the biggest heist ever of the "precious" stones (they're not really precious, FYI, it's all marketing, but we won't let that spoil the plot of the movie).

Meadow Williams will make a return to the film as well to play the role of Holly, but where she fits into the plot is unknown as of this point.

One actor who won't be returning for on-camera duties is Curtis Jackson, aka 50 Cent. He will, however, be joining the cast on the production side of things, so if you were looking forward to his specific brand of mumble-smirking in the sequel, then you're out of luck. Maybe it'll have a trickle down effect from behind the camera somehow.

Jonathan Kier of Sierra/Affinity seemed really stoked to share the news of their production role on Den of Thieves: Pantera and released the following statement regarding its distribution of the film: "We are incredibly excited to join such a thrilling franchise that has clearly captured audiences all around the world. We look forward to partnering with this very talented team of actors, producers and filmmakers."

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, it's difficult to know when exactly Pantera will be released, but one thing is for sure: there are plans to get the movie made. Are you excited to check it out?