Finally, a major publication has started reporting on Michael Mann’s “Heat 2.” I’ve been all over this project ever since I had heard, last summer, about the heated studio bidding war in trying to snatch up the rights to Mann’s novel.
It was quite clear to me that this was a hot property that execs wanted to get their hands on. “Heat” has amassed a large fanbase over the years and now we’re witnessing the extent of it.
It turns out, David Zaslav is going to be the winner of the ‘Heat’ sweepstakes. Go figure.
Deadline is reporting that Zaslav’s Warner Bros has won that bidding war and are now in negotiations to come on to develop “Heat 2”, the sequel to the 1995 classic.
Adam Driver, who stars in Mann’s upcoming “Ferrari”, is also in discussions with the filmmaker to be a part of the “Heat” sequel. Again, if you’ve been reading my coverage, you shouldn’t be so surprised by this news.
However, Deadline has no other casting details. Driver, they add, has so far been the only actor firmly committed for a role. Also rumored to star, I’ve heard, Al Pacino, Ana de Armas and Austin Butler.
There is no production date scheduled for “Heat 2,” for now. I would guess things won’t get rolling until after Mann premieres “Ferrari” at Venice and screens it at other festivals in the fall. Then we’ll start hearing more about this one.
Mann recent ‘Heat’ novel became a New York Time #1 best-seller when it was published last August. The upcoming sequel is said to based on that source material, which is a continuation of the “Heat” saga. The setting takes place both before and after the original, in the same vein as in The Godfather Part II, largely focusing on Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) and Chris Shiherlis (the character played in the film by Val Kilmer).