Oscar-nominated director Michael Mann has provided an update on the long-awaited sequel to his classic crime drama Heat. Back in March, the Ferrari director revealed that Heat 2 would be his next project, setting off speculation as to how Mann would continue the story nearly 30 years later, and who would star in it. In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Mann revealed where the film stands in the pre-production process.
Mann told the Times’ Mark Olsen he was “deep into writing” (the reporter’s words) the screenplay adaptation for the sequel. Heat 2 was originally released as a novel in 2023, which Mann co-wrote with Meg Gardiner, the crime thriller author of books including Unsub and The Dark Corners of the Night. Once completed, Mann expects to move to production quickly, as he anticipates a start of filming later this year or in early 2025.
In April, Mann revealed that Heat 2 would be “a prequel and a sequel,” and, like the novel, would be set in the days immediately following the end of the first film. The main plotline will follow Chris Shiherlis (played by Val Kilmer in the original film) trying to get out of Los Angeles, with police detective Vincent Hanna (played by Al Pacino) hunting him down. The film will then flashback to 1988, to tell the story of Chris and Robert De Niro’s Neil McCauley, and their early days as criminals:
It goes back to 1988 and they’re very different people. They’re not the people they are in the movie. It’s the events of ’88 that made them into the people they are in the movie. So the De Niro character, Neil McCauley, is deep into a relationship with a woman, he has a stepdaughter. He has all these attachments.
Casting for the film has been a hot-point of discussion online for fans of the film. Neither Pacino or Kilmer are expected to reprise their roles after 30 years (for obvious reasons), so the focus has shifted to who will play younger versions of the characters. When asked about casting for the film, particularly the rumors that Austin Butler (Dune Part II) and Adam Driver were starring in the film, Mann’s response was rather matter-of-fact:
Reports had circulated last year that some of Hollywood’s hottest young stars were vying for roles in the film, including Jeremy Allen White and Channing Tatum. Mann had stated that he would not begin casting until the screenplay was finished, but admits that he “had some conversations with some people.”
Can Heat 2 Live Up to the Original Film?
When Heat was first released in 1995, it garnered solid reviews, but they were not overwhelmingly positive. It now holds an 83% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, but in the years since its release, its status among film fans has grown. Although stars Al Pacino and Robert De Niro only share a few minutes onscreen together, the result is electric. Their key scene together, in which they lay out their intentions to each other while sitting in a diner, is considered a classic film moment by fans.
It’s not clear how Mann will tell a story that begins days after the 1995 film ended, but it appears the flashback sequence will be the focus of the film. This approach worked well for The Godfather Part II, which also starred De Niro and Pacino. For now, fans of the film will have to wait and see if the new cast can carry the mantle of the original. A release date for Heat 2 has not been announced.
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Michael Mann first rose to fame as the executive producer of the Miami Vice series of the 1980s, and as the director of Thief (1981) and Manhunter (1986). He established himself as an A-list director in the 1990s, not only for Heat, but also with his films Last of the Mohicans and The Insider, with the latter earning him Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Picture. His post-2000 films include Ali, Collateral, Blackhat, and Ferrari.
Heat
is currently streaming on Paramount+.