‘Den Of Thieves 3’ Just Got One Step Closer To Its Location, And Fans Are Already Guessing
Gerard Butler’s heist franchise has become one of Lionsgate’s more reliable action bets in recent years, and the momentum is only building as ‘Den of Thieves 3’ inches toward production. The sequel followed a strong domestic run for ‘Den of Thieves 2: Pantera’, which opened at No. 1 and pulled in more than $32 million stateside before moving to premium video on demand. With that kind of box office backing, the studio wasted little time greenlighting another chapter.
Lionsgate, Tucker Tooley Entertainment, and Butler’s own G-BASE banner have already put the threequel into active development, with Christian Gudegast expected to return as writer and director. Franchise star O’Shea Jackson Jr. is set to reprise his role as Donnie, and while promoting his new comedy ‘Idiots’, he offered fans a glimpse into where his character might end up next.
Speaking with ScreenRant, Jackson Jr. explained that the location shift for the third film comes down to the fact that his character “can’t go to the States anymore” following the Los Angeles heist in the original movie, and he can no longer return to Europe after the World Diamond Center job in ‘Pantera’. That leaves a narrower map for where the story can realistically go next.
During a conversation with his ‘Idiots’ co-star Dave Franco, Jackson Jr. joked that “I’ve only got technically four other places I could go to,” before Franco floated the idea of Japan as a setting. Jackson lit up at the suggestion, admitting it would be “so dope” to shoot a heist movie there, complete with cherry blossoms in the background, though he was careful to clarify that Japan is not actually where the new film is headed.
That off-the-cuff riff has not stopped speculation from spreading online, especially since Jackson Jr. has floated other locations in the past. Earlier remarks from the actor referenced director Christian Gudegast wanting to push the story toward Africa, a detail Jackson seemed genuinely surprised by at the time. Between those comments and the newest tease, fans now have a growing list of places the production has considered and ruled out, even if the final answer remains under wraps.
Reports have since confirmed that the setting change is real, even if the specific country has not been officially announced, with the studio reportedly working to fast track the film so it can hit theaters in 2027 and avoid the long gap that separated the first two entries. For a franchise that built its identity on high stakes heists in tightly controlled locations, moving Donnie into unfamiliar territory could be exactly the shake up needed to keep the formula fresh.
Between Jackson Jr.’s playful teasing and the studio’s push to speed up development, ‘Den of Thieves 3’ already feels like it is building real buzz well before a script is finalized. Where do you think Donnie should pull off his next impossible heist if not Japan?
