*After seven years, the highly anticipated “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera“ drops Friday (01-10-25). Sirius XM Grown Folk Jamz Radio/TV personality Jazmyn Summers caught up with stars Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson and executive producer 50 Cent for EURweb.
“I was killed in the last one and now I came back to executive produce the second one,” flexed 50 Cent who is building a new film production studio in Louisiana.
The sequel dives into a high-stakes diamond heist set in Europe, with Gerard Butler reprising his role as the relentless Detective ‘Big Nick’ O’Brien and O’Shea Jackson Jr. returning as the criminal mastermind Donnie Wilson. But for Detective O’Brien, there’s a twist when he teams up with Donnie for the heist.
“He doesn’t feel supported by the cops. He’s divorced. Life has not been so great. But he has Donnie, and Donnie is something to aim for,” explains Butler.
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The tension and chemistry between the two characters add a gripping dynamic to the film.
“At the end of the last movie, he thought, ‘I’m screwed, and that guy’s good.’ So it washed him out… but it also brought him back to life,”
For Jackson Jr., returning to the role of Donnie was both familiar and groundbreaking.
“Yeah, it’s a beauty to play the same character but a different one at the same time. Black people rarely get to be the mastermind in movies, that part. So I was really happy to do that in the first one, but I needed this role to kind of break out a little bit As much as I love ‘Straight out of Compton ‘and how big of a part that is in my heart because of what it meant for my family, our history, and just the legacy moving forward, this is by far my best performance.
Butler did a lot of the stunts himself.
Off-screen, Jackson Jr. remains focused on his daughter rather than dating.
“The love of my life is my baby girl Jordan. She gets all my time and I just need to do more roles because she getting older and she going to ask for more stuff,” he shared, firmly focused on fatherhood and his career. As for Super Bowl predictions, “ I’m going for my Rams. But a Lions vs. Bills matchup would be cool “Jackson Jr. shares. “Neither of them got a Super Bowl yet and it would be dope to see two teams battling for their first one.”
Butler and Jackson Jr. both opened up about their bad habits. Butler, with his signature humor, confessed:
“Oh, probably diamond heists. I really have to give them up and get back to my good and proper ways. I was going to mention one, but no, these things come back to haunt you… I have more bad habits than I have good habits.” Jackson Jr., on the other hand, admitted to taking relaxation seriously when not working. “Ooh, when I don’t have a call time I’m lazy as hell. I kick back. Alright. I sit back with my daughter, watch Bluey, or I’m on my PlayStation.”
Now at the after party, Jazmyn got Gerard to confess his real bad habit but promised to keep it on the low. If you want to know, DM her on her Instagram.
“Den of Thieves 2: Pantera,” was directed and written by Christian Gudegast and it promises adrenaline-pumping action, emotional depth, and a captivating partnership between Butler and Jackson Jr. Be sure to grab your popcorn and experience the thrill on the big screen this Friday.
”Get back to the movies, get back to feeling the sound, feeling the crowd, the environment, and help your boy get that third one,” urged Jackson Jr.
You can catch the conversations in the video above.
Interview by Jazmyn Summers. Photos and video by Melissa Nyomi Stoll of Melshotya You can hear Jazmyn every morning on “Jazmyn in the Morning “on Sirius XM Channel 362 Grown Folk Jamz and subscribe to Jazmyn Summers’ YouTube. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
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