What Does Den of Thieves 2’s Subtitle ‘Pantera’ Mean?

One of the biggest under-the-radar hits in recent years was 2018’s Den of Thieves. It was so successful that a sequel was greenlit, and Lionsgate acquired the rights to distribute the film. However, Den of Thieves 2‘s subtitle, “Pantera,” is leaving some scratching their heads. Here’s what it means.

Den of Thieves 2: What Does ‘Pantera’ Mean?

It’s common for a sequel to have a subtitle – just look at most of the follow-ups in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But very rarely does an English movie use a non-English subtitle. However, “Pantera,” which translates to “panther” in several languages, isn’t all that much of a surprise, as Den of Thieves 2 director Christian Gudegast let it slip many years ago that panthers would be involved in the sequel.

During an interview with Screen Rant in 2018, Gudegast was asked whether he planned to make a second film from the start, which led him to reveal part of Pantera‘s story. “That’s all a function of studio filmmaking. Every studio wants a little mini-franchise if possible,” he said. “Thankfully, thank god, we’re all very fortunate that it did very well and now we’re going to do a sequel which is great. But that wasn’t initially the plan. That’s just something that sort of you know as we were making it and we were feeling that the twist was working, and it setting up well for a sequel – if it performed, that we would do one. And it performed so… the sequel will be something that I have researched for years and years. I’m adapting a different story to make it a sequel about the Pink Panther mafia and the diamond thieves from Europe.”

The Pink Panthers are a network of thieves who pull heists all over the world. They focus on jewels and use their military backgrounds to evade detection. The Pink Panthers, which received their name due to the similarities to the iconic cartoon thief, have been active since 2001, giving Gudegast and Co. plenty of material to build the story for Den of Thieves 2.

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In Pantera, Donnie Wilson, who got away from Nicholas O’Brien in Den of Thieves, gets involved with the Pink Panthers as they attempt to pull off a major heist. According to Gudegast, the story will take inspiration from the 2003 Antwerp diamond heist, also referred to as “the heist of the century.”

And that’s what Den of Thieves 2‘s subtitle “Pantera” means.

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera opens in theaters on January 10th.