Hollywood is eating itself alive over AI, and Michael Mann has decided to jump straight into the fire.
Speaking during a masterclass at the Lumiere Film Festival (via Variety), Mann confirmed that AI and digital de-aging tools will play a key role in “Heat 2. If there’s a way for Mann to destroy any goodwill he had with the online mob then this will surely do it.
I don’t experiment with technology gratuitously. When I have a dramatic or aesthetic need for it, then I go deep into what I need […] aging and de-aging may be very important in the next film.
Is this a good idea? It’ll put Mann squarely in the center of one of Hollywood’s fiercest cultural wars. Add in de-aging technology, which divided audiences in “The Irishman” and “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” and you have a perfect storm of controversy
Mann went on to confirm that “Heat 2” would jump across timelines, exploring both before and after the events of the original film. “It picks up one day after the movie ends — only Val Kilmer’s alive, and he has to flee the United States,” Mann revealed.
Production-wise, Mann confirmed “Heat 2” made the jump from Warner Bros. to Amazon MGM’s United Artists, with producer Scott Stuber, which in his own words will ensure the “proper size and scale” for what he implies is a very costly movie.
Heat 2 is… an expensive movie to make, but I believe it should be made at the proper size and scale. It’s going to shoot in Chicago, Los Angeles, Paraguay, and possibly some parts in Singapore.
In case anybody’s worried about Amazon/MGM not giving “Heat 2” the proper release in theaters, Mann responded by saying it’ll be quite the opposite— expect a robust rollout in 2027:
We moved from Warner Brothers to Amazon and United Artists, but it will be absolutely released theatrically, in the United States, probably in about 4,000 cinemas and for at least 45 days.
Beyond “Heat 2,” Mann is also eyeing a Vietnam War project based on Mark Bowden’s Hue 1968, a multi-perspective epic he described as “like Rashomon.”
However, for now, all eyes are on “Heat 2.” If Mann wants backlash from an industry that’s already triggered by any mention of the technology, then he’ll experiment with AI, and aim to legitimize the technology as a new cinematic tool.