Directed by Christian Gudegast,2018's Den of Thieves ends with a major twist that reveals the film's true criminal mastermind, so here's the Den of Thieves ending explained in full. The finale doesn't necessarily explain why a group of criminals would betray their comrades, or how they were able to flee with millions. The key to understanding Den of Thieves ending is really to pay very close attention.
Though Den of Thieves received a lukewarm reception from critics, it seemed to connect with audiences more than expected and became a surprise box office hit. A big part of what audiences seemed to like in the heist movie was the final twist. It is the kind of revelation that changes everything the audiences thought they knew and makes them want to revisit it again to see if they can spot the clues. Indeed, there are a lot of steps that led to that unexpected Den of Thieves ending that audiences can explore in deep detail.
What Happens In Den Of Thieves (A Brief Recap)
Den of Thieves initially appears to subvert the good guys vs. bad guys premise. Action star Gerard Butler stars as Detective Nicholas "Big Nick" O'Brien who arrives at a Los Angeles crime scene and offers up a heavy dose of toxic masculinity. Sure, his acquaintances don't quite like him, but his inner circle of "regulators" are fiercely loyal, evidenced by a party sequence in which they kidnap and question a local bartender named Donnie Wilson (O'Shea Jackson Jr.).
Big Nick states that he and his crew are the real bad guys, and forces Donnie to give up information about his criminal associate Ray Merrimen (Pablo Schreiber). The primary conflict in Den of Thieves involves Big Nick trying to figure out the scope of Merrimen's next heist. As it turns out, the Los Angeles Branch of the Federal Reserve is the crew's next target. Specifically, Merrimen plans to steal $30 million of "unfit" money (currency with no serial numbers) before it's shredded.
Merrimen's Den of Thieves crew consists of Donnie, Levi (50 Cent), Bosco (Evan Jones), and Mack (Cooper Andrews). Crucially, Merrimen doesn't explain why he knows so much about the inner workings of the Federal Reserve, but everyone trusts him because of their military and high school sports connection (which Gerard Butler's Big Nick identifies during his investigation). Meanwhile, Merrimen uses his own girlfriend and Donnie to feed Big Nick information about a planned target in Montebello, but that's just one part of a larger plan. Here's that plan and the Den of Thieves ending explained in detail.
What Happens In Den Of Thieves' Ending
At Pico Rivera Savings & Loan, Big Nick expects to arrest Merrimen's heist movie crew but quickly realizes that something is different about this particular heist. For one, the crew threatens to kill civilians, which isn't part of their usual operating procedure. Still, Big Nick waits it out after Merrimen seemingly blows up a bank vault while waiting for his demands to be met. Big Nick then realizes that the crew has escaped, and that he'd been tricked.
Next, Merrimen's crew executes the Federal Reserve heist they'd been preparing for all along (more on that below). But after escaping, Donnie is detained by Big Nick and gives up the rally point. Meanwhile, Merrimen drops communication with Mack after learning about Donnie's detainment, and attempts to escape with Bosco and Levi. Den of Thieves' climax builds to a massive shootout during a traffic jam, culminating with the deaths of Merrimen, Bosco, and Levi.
Den of Thieves ends with Big Nick's discovery that the stolen Federal Reserve money was all shredded. He also realizes that Donnie somehow managed to escape. Big Nick then pays a visit to Ziggy's Hafbrau, the "neutral place" where he initially confronted Donnie earlier in the film. After taking a look around and reflecting about past conversations, Big Nick realizes that Donnie was indeed the true mastermind. A brief montage reveals that Donnie had been collecting information on napkins for an extensive period of time, and then approached his former Marine pal, Pablo Schreiber's Merrimen, with a heist plan. The final seconds of Den of Thieves' ending explained that Donnie is now working in London and apparently plotting to rob a nearby diamond exchange.
Merrimen's Federal Reserve Heist Plan
On the surface, Merrimen's Federal Reserve heist goes as planned. He creates a distraction at Pico Rivera Savings & Loan and successfully escapes through a sewer system. Merrimen and Levi then gain access to the Federal Reserve "nerve center" by disguising themselves and faking a money drop, using the stolen armored vehicle from earlier in the film and money from a rave heist. From there, Merrimen and Levi dump a money tub containing Donnie, who gains access to the count room after Bosco cuts the power. Donnie then locates the unfit money before it's shredded, and makes sure to drop the bag into a garbage truck that will leave the building.
Using intel from Mack (Cooper Andrews), Donnie begins his plan's masterstroke. After he successfully escapes, he locates a boxed meal that he hid earlier while making a fast-food delivery. Now pretending to be a deliveryman, Donnie manages to get past security on his way out before getting detained by Big Nick. Meanwhile, Merrimen reaches the junkyard rally point while Bosco hijacks a garbage truck carrying the money (the driver is revealed to be one of Donnie's friends).
Merrimen essentially lives by the gun and dies by the gun in Den of Thieves. Like Gerard Butler's high kill-count-boasting Big Nick, he stays true to a specific code of conduct but doesn't anticipate that Donnie would betray him by manipulating the plan to his advantage (more on that below). In terms of storytelling, Merrimen and Big Nick share similar qualities: they are two masculine men with supreme belief in their skills. Ultimately, they're merely pawns in the game, which theoretically sets up the premise for Den of Thieves 2: revenge and justice.
How Donnie Ends Up With The Money In Den Of Thieves
In Den of Thieves, Merrimen's plan is actually Donnie's plan. Evidenced by the final montage, Donnie orchestrated the entire Federal Reserve heist by collecting information while bartending at Ziggy's Hofbrau. Of course, he couldn't execute the plan alone, so he reached out to a military acquaintance, Merrimen, while secretly plotting with his old sports buddies — Mack, Alexi (Oleg Taktarov), and Bas (Max Holloway).
Once Donnie gains access to the Federal Reserve count room, he keeps the money for himself in a secret bag. It's ultimately revealed that Bas was the driver who left the Federal Reserve with different bags of money and that Alexi had the unfit and un-trackable heist money sent to Panama. Early in Den of Thieves, Donnie makes a telling statement while bartending kitty-corner from the Federal Reserve: “I’m in complete control of my environment, and people don’t even know.” The final scene in Den of Thieves shows Mack, Alexi, and Bas drinking at a London pub while Donnie bartends and plans the next job, which could presumably inform the story of Den of Thieves 2.
What Den Of Thieves Gets Right About Real Bank Robberies
Den of Thieves may seem unbelievable at times, but Gudegast did indeed try to make it feel authentic. For a technical advisor, he reportedly hired L.A. robbery expert Bill Rehder — the author of Where The Money Is — and also used sources from the LAPD, the military, and a former leader of Hell's Angels [via Bustle]. The film's narrative can be easily and conveniently picked apart by critics who saw Den of Thieves as a Heat ripoff. Still, the blend of reality and fantasy is what makes Den of Thieves so intriguing and popular amongst general moviegoers. According to Den of Thieves director Christian Gudegast, "Truth is not only stranger than fiction, it’s much more fascinating than fiction."
Den Of Thieves Ending Song Explained
To fully assess the Den of Thieves' ending, it's also worth making note of the song used at the end of the film: "Legendary" by Welshly Arms. Given how well the song fits into the movie's final events, it's easy to wonder whether "Legendary" was composed specifically for Den of Thieves. However, the song actually came out two years prior to the film's release. Not only does the song set an effective tone, but its lyrics also help underscore some of Den of Thieves' biggest themes.
In particular, the lines "Been dreaming of the payoff/Through the struggles and the trade-offs/ Fighting tooth and nail on the way up" parallels the thieves' motivations, while "Eventually they're gonna know who's right/To make a stand, you've got to win the fight" and "You gotta live without a compromise" encapsulate Gerard Butler's hardboiled movie character. Such synchronicity is hard to find, but "Legendary" ends Den of Thieves on a defiant note.
Where Den Of Thieves 2's Story Goes Next
Given the success of the first movie and the tease of the Den of Thieves ending, there is indeed a follow-up on the way. Gerard Butler returns for the sequel Den of Thieves 2: Pantera along with O'Shea Jackson Jr. as Donnie. As expected, the movie will revolve around Donnie stepping up as the main criminal mastermind with Big Nick hot on his trail, though this time the action will take place in Europe. When speaking about the sequel (via Inverse), Butler explained that the story follows Big Nick monitoring Donnie's heist career in Europe and refuses to "sit my ass in LA and let this guy go and take over Europe. So I go to hunt him down." Butler also suggests that the movie is more fun than Den of Thieves, perhaps playing on Donnie's talents as a master strategist rather than just a gritty thief.