Finally, after a year of negotiations, Leonardo DiCaprio has decided he will star in Michael Mann’s sequel, which will start shooting in November, according to TheWrap’s sources.
DiCaprio will tackle Chris Shiherlis, who was played by Val Kilmer in the 1995 original.
The central dilemma DiCaprio has had for over six months is which character he would play: Neil McCauley or Chris Shiherlis. It all depended on DiCaprio’s schedule and how many months he was willing to commit to filming. Mann is planning a six- to seven-month production across multiple countries. Chris would require a heavier workload, as he is more of a central character in “Heat 2” than Neil. DiCaprio choosing Chris indicates he is all in.
Adam Driver is the villain, Otis Wardell, a brand-new character introduced in Mann’s novel, on which the film is based. Christian Bale will play Vincent Hanna, originally portrayed by Al Pacino. Jason Clarke is rumored for the role of Nate, the veteran criminal fixer originally played by Jon Voight in “Heat.”
Furthermore, TheWrap has also learned that Stephen Graham is in talks for Neil McCauley, the iconic Robert De Niro role. More curiously, a “number of actresses” are in play for the role of Sharlene, originated by Ashley Judd.
Amazon/MGM took over “Heat 2” after Warner Bros. found the $200M budget too pricey — the film is now said to cost around $170M.
Mann recently confirmed that the globe-trotting production will take him to Los Angeles, Chicago, Paraguay, and Singapore. The L.A. shoot alone will be 77 days. That’s quite an arduous shoot for Mann, 83, and one can surmise this might be the last big blockbuster of his career. One insider called the scale of “Heat 2” “‘Spartacus’ with machine guns, ‘John Wick’ times 1,000.” The action sequences in the film are meant to “dwarf the action sequences from the original film.”
More A-listers are circling “Heat 2” and will soon be announced as Mann’s passion project inches closer to production.
After this weekend, when “Artificial” and “Behemoth!” screen at NYFF, there won’t be many Oscar contenders left unseen. In fact, by my count, there are just two: ‘Cliff Booth,’ and “Dune: Part Three.”