Den of Thieves 2: Pantera was one of 2025’s first major films, but it’s also a great reminder to check out Gerard Butler’s action movie from 7 years ago. The film was released in theaters on January 10, and is now finally going to be hitting Netflix on March 20, bringing the heist thriller sequel to more audiences than ever before. While Den of Thieves 2‘s reviews weren’t spectacular, the film managed to strike a chord with plenty of people in theaters and on PVOD services.
Despite Den of Thieves 2 being a decent success, it didn’t manage to reach the biggest audience, only making around $53 million on a $40 million budget. However, streaming releases will often bring a second life to movies, meaning that many more people are likely to give the film a sH๏τ now that it is freely available. In light of that, if you are planning on watching it, you should definitely try and take a look at the first Den of Thieves from 2018 before going into the sequel.
The First Den Of Thieves Is A Lot Of Fun & Currently Streaming On Peacock
The Original Film Is Fully Available To Any Peacock Subscriber
Den of Thieves was obviously the film that started the franchise, and it remains a solidly fun time, with a great cast, led by Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr. The first film didn’t make a huge splash with critics, as opposed to Pantera‘s decent Rotten Tomatoes score, but it is a great movie to just throw on and not take too seriously. Den of Thieves is currently streaming on Peacock in the United States, but it will be leaving on March 30, so be sure to watch it while you can.
Watching The First Den Of Thieves Will Help Prepare You For Den Of Thieves 2’s Netflix Release
It Probably Isn’t Required, But It Is A Good Idea
As Den of Thieves 2 is a sequel, it would make sense to watch the original before diving headfirst into the world of the second film in the franchise. It isn’t a direct sequel per se, as the major plot points of the first film are mostly resolved by the climax, but it still definitely helps introduce the characters and world of Den of Thieves 2. The protagonists have quite a bit of development through the first movie, so seeing where the characters begin in Pantera is much more rewarding with knowledge of the original.
Production on Den of Thieves 3 is supposed to begin in 2025, with both Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr. expected to return.
While this may all seem quite obvious, there are a lot of sequels that feel very disconnected from the other films in the franchise, and can be watched without any prior knowledge of the world or characters. Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is an action/heist film first and foremost, so it can be viewed pretty easily without any other knowledge, but having prior knowledge of the first film just makes the experience that much more enjoyable.
