Alright, after a week of waiting, I finally got a second source to confirm this, so I can confidently report that Austin Butler is in final talks to star in Michael Mann’s “Heat 2” Butler is set to play Chris Shiherlis, originally portrayed in 1995’s “Heat” by Val Kilmer.
The resemblance between young Kilmer and current-day Butler is uncanny. This casting is a no-brainer. It also helps that Butler is a talented actor — Oscar-nominated for “Elvis” and who can next be seen this summer in Jeff Nichols’ “The Bikeriders.”
I’m told casting on the film is very much under way. We already know that Mann’s “Ferrari” star, Adam Driver, will most likely be taking on the role of Neil MacCauley (originally played by Robert De Niro). Other actors who are rumored to have been offered roles for the sequel include Al Pacino and Ana de Armas.
Michael Mann has been reluctant in confirming any of the actors who will take part in the sequel, and I’m told by one of my sources that it’s because there isn’t an exact date as to when “Heat 2” will start production. Right now, it’s looking like a shoot in November is planned for the film. Butler is supposed shoot Aronofsky’s “Caught Stealing” in September, so he’ll most likely going to be doing these two back-to-back.
This past January, Mann mentioned that he wanted to shoot “Heat 2” on film — something he hasn’t done since the aughts. Mann is coming off last year’s “Ferrari,” which was his first film since 2015’s “Blackhat.”
The Film Stage had recently reported, via “strong sources,” that Warner Bros. was ready to allocate a big budget for the hotly anticipated sequel and that almost every hot young star in the biz had been trying to get cast in Mann’s film — they included the likes of Channing Tatum and Jeremy Allen White, who have apparently made their interest actively known to Mann and Warner Bros.
“Heat 2” will be an adaptation of Mann’s own published novel, which became a New York Times #1 best-seller in August 2022 — it’s a continuation of the “Heat” saga. The setting takes place both before and after the original, utilizing flashbacks in the same vein as in The Godfather Part II, and largely focusing on Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) and Shiherlis (Val Kilmer).