Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is the latest action movie from Gerard Butler, and it makes his upcoming return to the Has Fallen franchise a lot more exciting. The 2025 sequel to Den of Thieves brings Butler back as the tough and somewhat goofy Big Nick. The second installment in the action crime franchise increases the role for its most recognizable star by having Nick and Donnie work together on a new heist. It’s a smart strategy to take since Den of Thieves is far from the first series Butler has been at the center of.
Before playing Big Nick, one of his most prominent roles came in the Has Fallen trilogy. Playing Secret Service member Mike Banning allowed Butler to repeatedly play a heroic figure tasked with saving the country or world in some way. The Has Fallen movies were wildly successful for the actor, and Den of Thieves is hoping to become a similarly mᴀssive franchise, with Den of Thieves 3 already in the works. While it is exciting to know he’ll be back for another turn as Big Nick, Den of Thieves 2 is also an excellent tease for his Has Fallen return.
Gerard Butler Is Poised To Return For More Has Fallen Movies After Den Of Thieves 2
He’s Confirmed To Play Mike Banning Again
The expectation that Gerard Butler will return for another Has Fallen sequel has existed for the last several years. News of more movies coming first arrived in late 2019, only a few months after Angel Has Fallen came out. The third film in the trilogy performed very well with audiences, earning $146 million at the box office and netting a 93% score from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. This led to franchise producer Alan Siegel confirming that another new trilogy of films was in development. Butler’s return for a fourth Has Fallen movie was confirmed a year later in 2020.
|
Has Fallen Movie |
Rotten Tomatoes Scores |
Box Office |
|---|---|---|
|
Olympus Has Fallen (2013) |
50% Critics / 66% Audiences |
$170.2 million |
|
London Has Fallen (2016) |
28% Critics / 51% Audiences |
$205.7 million |
|
Angel Has Fallen (2019) |
38% Critics / 93% Audiences |
$146.6 million |
Details around Has Fallen 4, known as Night Has Fallen, are sparse years after its development first surfaced. Franchise vets Robert Kamen and Ric Roman Waugh are returning to write and direct, and there was a hope to begin filming in 2021. However, production was delayed due to a lawsuit between Butler and Millenium Media over pay disputes, which has since been resolved, and the strikes that brought Hollywood to a halt in 2023. Over a year later, there’s still no confirmation on when Night Has Fallen will begin filming or what the story is about.
Still, there’s no reason to believe that Gerard Butler won’t make another Has Fallen movie in the near future. He’s been busy with Den of Thieves 2‘s long production, making the live-action How to Train Your Dragon, and doing Greenland: Migration. It could now come down to figuring out if he’ll make Night Has Fallen before or after Den of Thieves 3.
Den Of Thieves 2 Proves Gerard Butler Is Still An Entertaining Action Star
Butler Still Has The Necessary Set Of Skills
The potential for Gerard Butler to return for Has Fallen 4 is only showcased by Den of Thieves 2. The recent movie proves that he’s still a believable action movie star even as he enters his mid 50s. With Tom Cruise, Liam Neeson, and others maintaining their standing as action movie stars as they’ve gotten older, Den of Thieves 2 is a nice reminder that Gerard Butler has not lost a step. He can absolutely headline action movies and entertain audiences in the process.
He still holds his own in fights, car chases, shootouts, and more
That’s reᴀssuring when thinking about him returning for Night Has Fallen. It’s been six years since he last played Mike Banning in Angel Has Fallen, and that installment already scaled back the action a bit. Den of Thieves 2 isn’t as action-heavy as the original movie or some of the earlier Has Fallen films, but there are still sequences that require Butler to be an action star. Knowing that he still holds his own in fights, car chases, shootouts, and more is all encouraging ahead of a fourth Has Fallen movie.
Gerard Butler’s Has Fallen Return Will Be Very Different From Den Of Thieves
Mike Banning Is A Totally Different Character Than Big Nick
It’s also good to remember that Gerard Butler returning to Has Fallen won’t be a carbon copy of how he came for Den of Thieves sequels. That’s mainly due to how different Mike Banning is from Big Nick. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve found plenty of enjoyment from Butler’s performance as Big Nick through his crude humor and offhand remarks. This is a guy who ate a donut from a crime scene, after all. But he’s also not the most likable character or a true hero. Mike Banning is a more typical protagonist that Butler can return to playing.
The differences between Mike Banning and Big Nick help keep the thought of Butler’s return to the former character exciting. He’s not simply playing the same character archetype in several different franchises and delivering stale interpretations of a “hero” in the process. Butler can keep using Den of Thieves to play a more corrupt hero or anti-hero, while Has Fallen is an opportunity to play a more traditional good guy. That’s a welcomed change of pace after Den of Thieves 2.
