After more than a year of on-and-off talks, Michael Mann‘s long-delayed ‘Heat 2‘ finally has its two leads. Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale are set to star in the sequel to Mann’s 1995 crime classic, and sources say filming is aiming to start in November.
Bale will play Vincent Hanna, the LAPD detective originally played by Al Pacino, while DiCaprio takes on Chris Shiherlis, the role Val Kilmer played in the first film. People close to the production say the deals are either done or nearly done, though Amazon MGM Studios hasn’t officially confirmed anything yet.
‘Heat 2’ Plot and Timeline Explained
Part of the delay reportedly came down to DiCaprio himself. He was torn between playing Neil McCauley and Chris Shiherlis, and the decision mostly came down to how much time he was willing to give the project, since Mann is planning a six- to seven-month shoot across several countries. Shiherlis is the bigger role of the two, so DiCaprio choosing it is being seen as a real sign of how invested he is in this film.
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Mann is writing and directing, working from the 2022 novel he co-wrote with Meg Gardiner. The book works as both a prequel and a sequel to the original movie, jumping between three time periods. There’s 1988, when the crew first runs into a dangerous new enemy. There’s 1995, when Hanna is chasing Shiherlis after he escapes across the border. And there’s 2000, when Hanna’s hunt for that same enemy pulls Shiherlis back into the picture.
‘Heat 2’ Cast Update
The rest of the cast is still coming together. Adam Driver is attached to play Otis Wardell, a villain created for the book. Stephen Graham is reportedly in talks to play a younger version of Neil McCauley, the part Robert De Niro originated. And Jason Clarke is being considered for a role that hasn’t been revealed yet. Nobody has been cast yet as Charlene, the wife played by Ashley Judd in the original.
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Getting this movie made hasn’t been easy. Warner Bros., which produced the first ‘Heat,‘ walked away from the sequel because the budget kept growing. That opened the door for Amazon MGM to come in with around $170 million in financing. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer is also on board, teaming up with Mann again almost 45 years after they first worked together on his debut film ‘Thief.’
Why ‘Heat 2’ Could Be the Next ‘Top Gun: Maverick’
For Mann, getting DiCaprio was a long time coming. The two have apparently wanted to work together for close to 30 years, and came closest with ‘The Aviator,’ a film Mann was set to direct before he dropped out and Martin Scorsese took over. Bale is returning to Mann’s world too, having already played another relentless lawman for him, Melvin Purvis in 2009’s ‘Public Enemies.‘
The studio is hoping ‘Heat 2‘ can pull off something like what ‘Top Gun: Maverick‘ did, cashing in on nostalgia for the original while pulling in new fans. Putting DiCaprio and Bale together is being viewed as a deliberate nod to the Pacino and De Niro chemistry from the first film. It’ll be the first time these two actors have ever shared the screen.
With this deal coming together, ‘Heat 2‘ is now officially next up for DiCaprio, following Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘One Battle After Another‘ and Martin Scorsese’s ‘What Happens at Night.’ Bale just finished ‘The Bride!‘ and will next be seen in Amazon MGM’s ‘Madden,’ playing former Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis.
Neither studio has made anything official yet. However, with production reportedly just months out, ‘Heat 2‘ looks closer to happening than it ever has before.
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