Michael Mann’s ‘Heat 2’ Script Submitted; Warner Bros. Getting Cold Feet

There’s an update regarding Michael Mann’s “Heat 2.” I’m told Mann submitted the script in early 2025, but that the project is nowhere near being greenlit over at Warner Bros.

A source with knowledge of the situation tells me that the delay has to do with all of the problems going on at Warner Bros. “Heat 2” has stalled, and there’s no real indication of any movement or progress.

The execs there have a HOT property in HEAT 2 - the novel was a best seller and the film’s only gotten more popular and beloved over the last 30 years since its debut. The studios seem to bitch that they need existing IP. Well, this is a gift.

Agents and actors are said to be lining up to be part of the project. Some of the rumored names include Austin Butler, Adam Driver, and Ana de Armas. There won’t be any shortage of star power.

Although no official discussions have been started yet with Warner Bros, “Heat 2” will probably need to have a budget well over $100M. As Warners is about to enter a potential turbulent year, giving the go ahead on “Heat 2” is seen as a major risk.

“The budget demanded by Michael [Mann] is way too high,” one source close to the studio tells me.

Mann had plans to shoot “Heat 2” in early 2024, then it got pushed to “late 2024” and then, months later, he told Radio France that he was aiming for an “early 2025” shoot. Mann has a few other projects in development, including a remake of the Korean crime-thriller “Veteran,” but “Heat 2” remains his main priority at the moment.

This latest update comes as Mann’s $95M “Ferrari” struggled at the box-office, only grossing $44M worldwide, and garnering no awards buzz. If you ask me, a real shame since “Ferrari,” although not his best work, was still a sumptuous and, at times, thrilling arthouse film.

It should be noted that “Ferrari” is not “Heat 2” — the latter which is an existing IP with a passionate fanbase, and would be an adaptation of a highly successful novel released just two years ago. Mann, who turned 82 last month, needs to get this one going, and if it has to come to the point where Warners sells the ‘Heat’ rights to another studio, then so be it.

With “Joker: Folie a Deux,” which cost $200M, having bombed theatrically, and “Mickey 17” standing to lose well over $100M, Warners still has a slew of upcoming auteur-driven productions on its schedule, we’re talking new films from Paul Thomas Anderson ($140M), Maggie Gyllenhaal ($100M), Ryan Coogler ($100M), David Robert Mitchell ($90M), and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu ($120M+).

This doesn’t even take into account James Gunn’s “Superman” which is of “almost incalculable importance” to the future of Warner Bros, according to Puck. The budget on “Superman” is still unknown, but will in all likelihood be in the $200M range. A source tells me “anything under $700M box office would be deemed a failure.”