EXCLUSIVE: O’Shea Jackson Jr. seems to know where Den of Thieves 3 is going.
Jackson has co-led the action franchise alongside Gerard Butler, starring as heist mastermind Donnie Wilson, who engages in various cat-and-mouse games with Butler’s Los Angeles Deputy Sheriff Nick O’Brien. After a modestly successful return with 2025’s Pantera, it was confirmed that they would both be back for Den of Thieves 3, with development greenlit by Lionsgate within weeks after its predecessor’s release.
Now, in an interview with ScreenRant‘s Tatiana Hullender for his new comedy crime thriller Idiots, Jackson Jr. was asked about the progress on Den of Thieves 3‘s development. The star began by acknowledging that part of the challenge in getting the action threequel off the ground is that his character “can’t go to the States anymore” after the first film saw Donnie successfully rob the Los Angeles Federal Reserve, nor can he go to Europe “because I just robbed the [World] Diamond Center” in 2025’s Pantera.
When asked by his Idiots co-star Dave Franco where Den of Thieves 3 will take Donnie, Jackson chuckled as he pointed out that “I’ve only got technically four other places I could go to.” When presented with the idea of Japan, Jackson was energetic in his desire to take the heist franchise to said country, but did confirm the new setting won’t be there:
O’Shea Jackson Jr.: But I think it would be so dope if I had a heist movie in Japan. Shoot it when the cherry blossoms are out there. Think of the shots you can have! Also, I look sick with a katana. The cars that they got out there? It just makes sense. I want to film in Japan, where I can meet my future wife and stay there forever. I feel like that would work.
Dave Franco: I feel like that would be a great crossover. Den of Thieves 3 meets Now You See Me 4. Crossover in Japan.
O’Shea Jackson Jr.: A little magic, a little heist…
Mason Thames: And then at the end of the movie, Toothless swoops down.
Though he may not have revealed where the franchise is taking Donnie in the next film, Jackson’s comments that Japan won’t be the new setting for Den of Thieves 3 does narrow down the possibilities of where the threequel could go. There are plenty of heist opportunities for the film to explore in the African, South American and Asian regions, but given the World Diamond Center is located in France, there’s also a chance Donnie may try his luck in other parts of Europe.
If he does venture out of Europe, though, the threequel could actually find its way to deliver on the first Den of Thieves‘ ending tease. The 2018 film saw Jackson’s character working at a new bar across from a diamond exchange of some kind, seemingly building to his major heist in the 2025 sequel, but was actually in London. With Pantera never directly addressing what happened in London, the next installment could bring Donnie back to the United Kingdom for his next heist.
On the other hand, there is also the possibility that writer/director Christian Gudegast may find a way to bring Donnie back to the States for Den of Thieves 3. Apart from the aforementioned London ending, the first film’s action was entirely in Southern California, and with it unclear whether the FBI or any other federal government agency connected Jackson’s characters to the heist, they may not even be looking for him, and thus open the door for him to come back in other states.
Regardless of where the movie ultimately takes him, the fact that Jackson seems to know what Den of Thieves 3‘s new setting will be may indicate that the script has finally come together for the threequel, and potentially even have a filming schedule in the works. This would go a long way to appeasing fans of the franchise that they won’t have to wait another seven years between installments, as was the case with the first two films.
- Director
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Christian Gudegast
- Writers
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Christian Gudegast
- Producers
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Gerard Butler, Tucker Tooley
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Gerard Butler
Nicholas ‘Big Nick’ O’Brien
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O’Shea Jackson Jr.
Donnie Wilson
