I’ve been tracking this project for a few years now: Michael Mann’s long-gestating “Heat 2,” a prequel to his 1995 crime masterpiece, is very much happening.
This weekend I was tipped off about a major update coming about “Heat 2.” Long story short, and for reasons I can’t disclose, I desperately needed to verify this with a second and third source before being able to publish this piece.
I think you know where this is going. Yes, a greenlight is happening on “Heat 2.” We should be having an announcement in the coming weeks. Here’s the kicker—and it’s a big one: After weeks of negotiations, Leonardo DiCaprio will indeed star in the film. In fact, next year DiCaprio might shoot two projects: “Heat 2” and Scorsese’s next film.
A DiCaprio-led “Heat 2” suddenly looks a lot more like a global event,. Furthermore, the cast they’ve assembled for Mann’s sequel is described as an “all-timer,” and that save for the rumored unconfirmed names, which include Ana de Armas, Austin Butler and Adam Driver, a few major casting surprises await.
It didn’t initially look so good for Mann’s sequel. Last year, I reported that Abdy and De Luca were getting cold feet about funding the $150M+ budget Mann was asking for. As recently as last month, I noted that casting had finally begun and that WB was back in talks. Then, Puck‘s Matt Belloni reported that Mann’s asking budget had jumped north of $200M—a number that gave Warners serious pause.
Mann, now 82, has spent the last few years carefully laying the groundwork for “Heat 2,” a dual prequel-sequel hybrid based on his 2022 novel co-written with Meg Gardiner. The book charts the early days of Neil McCauley (played by Robert De Niro in the original) and Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino), while also following Hanna’s hunt for a new threat in the aftermath of the original film’s climactic shootout.
Michael Mann, whose last film was 2023’s “Ferrari,” has been determined to make “Heat 2” his next project, sidelining other potential films like his long-gestating Vietnam War epic Hué ‘68. In a nod to the original, Mann plans to shoot “Heat 2” on film — his first departure from digital cinematography since 1999’s “The Insider.”
A key figure that could “glue” both films together: bringing back original DP Dante Spinotti and the “bluish, metallic cityscapes” of the original. Spinotti is 80 years old, but he’s still actively working. Mann should make it a priority to bring him back.
“Heat” was as much a visual feast as it was a visceral experience. Spinotti’s imprint has been all over Mann’s filmography, having worked with Mann on such classics as “Manhunter” and “The Insider.” Their last collaboration together was 2009’s “Public Enemies.”
Official updates should arrive in the coming weeks — it’s moving forward, with the remaining cast set to be unveiled soon.