Michael Mann was the toast of the Lumière Festival in Lyon this week — an inspired celebration of cinema overseen by Cannes chief Thierry Frémaux. Mann was there as the festival’s honorary guest, and came bearing some updates on long-awaited projects.
The biggest surprise? Mann confirmed that his long-in-the-works Western “Comanche” is finally moving forward — though not with him in the director’s chair. Instead, Scott Cooper will take the reins. Mann revealed the news during his masterclass, saying:
I want to do a western. I have two screenplays, one of which I’m not going to do — I’m going to produce, and Scott Cooper is going to direct. It’s called Comanche.
Written by Mann and frequent collaborator Eric Roth (“The Insider”) back in the early 2000s, “Comanche” is inspired by the true story of Cynthia Ann Parker, a white woman kidnapped by Comanches as a child who later assimilated into their tribe. The project has long lingered in development hell, so hearing Mann confirm its resurrection — and under a director — is certainly a surprise. Cooper’s “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” likely didn’t hurt his chances either; he’s also directed his own western in the past (“Hostiles”).
I’m not exactly a die-hard fan of Cooper, and part of me wishes Mann had directed “Comanche” himself — though honestly, he’s got too much on his plate these days. Beyond “Heat 2,” Mann has confirmed that his next project will be “Battle of Hué,” his long-gestating Vietnam War epic chronicling the month-long, brutal urban battle in which U.S. and South Vietnamese forces recaptured the city of Hué.
Speaking of “Heat 2,” which has officially landed at Amazon/MGM, Mann offered a brief update ln the project — casting is currently underway, with Mann hinting that cameras could roll in 2026.
We’re in the middle of negotiations, but if all goes well, we should start early summer 2026.
Mann will receive the Lumière Award before a crowd of 3,000 on Friday night — a fitting tribute to a filmmaker whose work continues to shape the language of modern cinema.