To call Inde Navarette’s “Obsession” role a breakout would be an understatement. This weekend, the film crossed $400 million, and with the buzz surrounding her showing no signs of slowing down, it seems she has caught the attention of the hottest project in town.
Speaking with Nylon Magazine, Navarette revealed that she had recently met with director Michael Mann for an undisclosed project. What movie other than “Heat 2” could this meeting have been about? Mann has been fully immersed on that project and is currently casting the ensemble.
Which role Navarette might be up for remains undisclosed, but the one major female role available is Charlene Shiherlis, originally played by Ashley Judd in the 1995 original. She is the young wife of Val Kilmer’s thief, with Leonardo DiCaprio set to play the character in the sequel. Currently, the cast includes DiCaprio, Christian Bale, Stephen Graham, Adam Driver, and Jason Clarke.
I’m not entirely convinced, mostly because of the age difference — there’s a 26-year age gap between DiCaprio and Navarette. Then again, Mann has freely admitted that he will be using de-aging technology on “Heat 2.” So, I guess anything is possible.
“Heat 2” is supposed to start production in November and will shoot across multiple countries for close to six months. Amazon/MGM has not dated the film just yet. Honestly, given all the delays and the struggles to tame Mann’s wild budget demands, it’ll already be a major win if or when this damn thing finally starts production.
As for Navarette, she has yet to choose her post-“Obsession” role and will likely be campaigned by Focus for awards this fall. It’s not a total stretch to think she could contend for an Oscar nomination. She also has a small indie currently in post-production that was shot around the time of “Obsession.” It’s called “Invertigo” and has yet to receive a release date.