Den of Thieves 2: Pantera ending explained — do they pull off the heist?

Donnie (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) and Big Nick (Gerard Butler) are back in Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, the sequel to the cult favorite heist movie Den of Thieves from 2018. In the original, these two were on opposite sides of a heist, with Donnie and a crew of thieves robbing the Federal Reserve in Los Angeles and Nick trying to catch them. However, as Donnie says in the sequel, “the cop goes gangster,” as Nick decides he wants in on Donnie’s latest heist.

We’re going to be getting into big SPOILERS for the movie, so if you haven’t seen it yet here is what you need to know about how to watch Den of Thieves 2: Pantera. You can also get our thoughts on the movie with WTW’s official Den of Thieves 2: Pantera review.

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera picks up a few years after the events of the first movie. Donnie is pulling off nearly flawless heists, as we see in the opening scene when he robs a plane shortly after it lands at the Antwerp airport in Belgium and grabs a valuable diamond.

Things aren’t going so well for Nick, whose divorce is now finalized and his attempts to figure out what happened with the money that Donnie stole are being thwarted because the Federal Reserve says no money is unaccounted for (remember, Donnie stole “unfit currency” that was set to be destroyed but still had value). However, when he sees the news about Antwerp, he figures that it must be Donnie. Doing a little more digging he finds out Donnie is in Nice, France, and decides to head that way.

Nick quickly finds Donnie, breaking into his apartment to wait for him. But he’s not there to arrest him, instead he wants in on Donnie’s heist, saying he is tired of being the hunter and wants his chance at a big payday. Faced with either letting Nick in or being arrested, Donnie agrees to let Nick join the heist.

Nick still has to prove himself to Donnie’s new crew, the Panthers, which includes Jovanna (Evin Ahmad), Slavko (Salvatore Esposito), Dragan (Oril Shuka) and Marko (Dino Kelly). Donnie does enough to get on the good side of most of the crew, though he ends up pissing Marko off when he dances with Jovanna (Marko’s ex), causing a fight and Marko dropping out of the heist.

Thankfully, they still have enough man power to pull off the intricate heist with Nick in tow. Though another problem arises for Nick and Donnie — the diamond that Donnie stole in the opening scene belonged to a powerful mafia gang. They grab Donnie and Nick and tell them if they don’t get their diamond back then they’re dead.

So, do Donnie and Nick pull off the heist? And how does a big twist ending set up another potential Den of Thieves sequel? We break it down for you right here.

What happens in the Den of Thieves 2: Pantera ending?

Donnie, Nick and the rest of the Panthers expertly execute their heist, find the mafia diamond and are on their way to cross the border and escape when Marko and some other goons drive up on them. They get into a fire fight, with Donnie and Nick’s car eventually crashing. They appear to be sitting ducks but Marko and his men are killed by the mafia, who were waiting for Donnie and Nick so they could get their diamond back.

They seem to be in the clear now, as the Panthers meet up with their backer to go over the loot. However, Nick seems off, and for good reason — he’s betrayed the Panthers, tipping off law enforcement so that they are all arrested, Donnie included.

In a French jail, Nick goes to visit Donnie. He explains it’s not easy for a tiger to change its stripes, meaning he couldn’t just stop being a cop. However, Nick does seem remorseful about what he did, particularly to Donnie. As he goes to leave, Nick tells Donnie to sit in the left seat, an odd thing to say that Donnie doesn’t understand.

Donnie is later put into a van to be transferred. Along the way, a pair of helicopters swoop in and block the transport, with men coming to break Donnie out (Nick wanted him to sit on the left side to avoid the risk of getting buzz sawed as they cut the door open).

Donnie is then taken to Sardinia and the home base of the mafia gang he stole from. He’s certain they are going to kill him, but instead the boss says he was impressed by Donnie’s skills, so now he works for them. Donnie is OK with this setup (certainly as an alternative to jail or death).

The movie ends with Nick driving along the coast when he gets a text from Donnie, saying that he’ll see him soon. Nick clearly chose to help Donnie, officially deciding to leave law enforcement behind, and that this is just the beginning of their new partnership.