The prequel to Netflix‘s Army of the Dead, directed by none other than Zack Snyder, was released just a few days ago on October 29, 2021. The movie is titled Army of Thieves and follows Matthias Schweighöfer‘s Sebastian (Ludwig Dieter) and his quest to open three of the toughest safes around the globe. Sure, a chunk of the movie seems to be fictional, but there are enough aspects in the film which make us ask; “Is this based on a true story?”

The movie revolves around a group of thieves; not ordinary thieves, but some of the most wanted throughout the world. This proves that this ain’t no small steal. We are talking about some serious crimes here. Well, let us just dive into the pool and figure out how much of all this is real and what all is just fantasy.

Sebastian and Hans in Army of Thieves

According to the movie and Sebastian, Hans Wagner was a legend when it came to locksmiths. He created 4 impeccable safes for Richard Wagner; one safe for each of his operas from his legendary work Ring Cycle. While the Ring Cycle is a genuine series of four grand operas which were created by the German composer Richard Wagner, there is no proof of any existence of a locksmith named Hans Wagner.

The movie, however, has done a great job, as they named each of the safes after Ring Cycle’s operas; The Rhine Gold, The Secret, and The Valkyrie are still in use, while the fourth safe, Götterdämmerung, is nowhere to be found.

Do uncrackable safes really exist?

All this safe breaking makes us ask a question. Does any safe exist that will stop people from entering it? Well, the answer is- No. While there have been thousands of locksmiths who have claimed that their safe is uncrackable; they were always proved wrong. It doesn’t matter if we talk about Ancient Egypt’s wooden safes, 9th Century England’s metal locks, or the modern locks of today.

There was always some dude who made it his life’s mission to crack a supposed “uncrackable” safe.

Do they really have a Safecracking Competition?

This may sound a little weird, but yes, there are safecracking competitions. Guess what? These competitions are at times international! A famous locksmith, Dave McOmie, is known for hosting these “penetration parties”. Here, world-class locksmiths come together and open up all the so-called “uncrackable” safes.

Is Gwendoline from Army of Thieves real?

It may break your heart, but Gwendoline is not based on a real person. However, her skills are as good as an international jewel thief named Doris Payne.

She was in this theft business ever since she was 16 years old and went on till she was at least 81. During this 65-year span, she stole everything from watches to jewelry. Payne had as many as 32 aliases and around 9 passports. You bet she was a pretty hard fish to catch as she spent only 5 years in prison.

Stream Army of Thieves now on Netflix and let us know who is your favorite character from the movie.