In the nearly 30 years since its theatrical release, Michael Mann’s Heat has earned a reputation of not only being one of the best ‘90s movies but also one of the greatest heist films of all time. Starring Academy Award winners Robert De Niro and Al Pacino on opposite sides of a cat-and-mouse chase in and around the greater Los Angeles area, this 1995 classic raised the bar for bank robbery scenes, intricate stories with morally ambiguous characters, and cinematic depictions of the “City of Angels.” And we’re about to get more… more of all of it…
At some point soon, we'll get Heat 2, the long-awaited follow-up to Mann’s sprawling crime epic. But before the upcoming book-to-screen adaptation of the legendary filmmaker’s 500-page novel comes to a theater near you, there are some things you’ll probably want to know about it. That being said, here’s everything we know about Heat 2…
What Is The Heat 2 Release Date?
As much as we would love to dive into the Heat 2 release date, that piece of information has not yet been announced by Michael Mann or anyone else involved. Considering the highly-anticipated sequel has yet to enter production (more on that in a bit), we probably won’t see the movie anywhere on the 2024 release schedule.
The first Heat came out on December 15, 1995 (the same day as Jumanji), so it would be cool if the sequel came out around the same time 30 years later in December 2025. But, no one would be upset if it came out earlier than that.
The Heat 2 Cast Hasn’t Been Announced But There Is Speculation About Two Of Its Stars
No one has been confirmed for the Heat 2 cast at the time of this writing in March 2024, but there has been a great deal of speculation about the actors who will appear in Michael Mann’s upcoming crime film.
For the longest time, there have been rumors that Adam Driver, who previously worked with Mann on Ferrari, is being eyed to play the younger version of Robert De Niro’s Neil McCauley (much of Heat 2 takes place in the past), which would admittedly be a great pick. However, when speaking with JoBlo in December 2023, Driver was tight-lipped about joining the Heat 2 cast.
There has also been speculation that Dune: Part Two's Austin Butler could be playing a younger version of Chris Shiherlis, the iconic ‘90s character famously played by Val Kilmer in the original. These rumors, which have been covered by everyone from World of Reel to GQ, intensified in March 2024 with the release of footage of Butler taking part in the gun training, as shared by Total Film (via GamesRadar). However, there has been no confirmation of his involvement in the upcoming project.
The Movie Is Both A Prequel And Sequel To Heat
Heat 2 is both a prequel and sequel to Michael Mann’s Heat. While the movie will show what happens to the McCauley crew in the days after the big job went wrong and Vincent Hanna’s (played by Al Pacino in the original film) quest to take down the surviving bank robbers, it will also focus on the early days of the gang and the various heists they pulled off in the years before going for the “big one” in Los Angeles.
Heat 2 Is Based On Michael Mann And Meg Gardiner’s Novel Of The Same Name
In addition to being a sequel and prequel to Heat, Michael Mann’s Heat 2 is also a big-screen adaptation of the filmmaker-turned-author’s debut novel. Mann has been trying to adapt Heat 2 to the silver screen for a few years now. In fact, he was talking about making it into a movie long before its August 2022 publication. In May 2020, the legendary director told Deadline that he had hopes for making a feature film at some point out of the stack of papers about “10 inches high” (referring to the Heat 2 manuscript) on his desk.
The book, which was co-written with Meg Gardiner, ended up being a nearly 500-page epic that became an immediate New York Times bestseller. The buzz surrounding the project has only gotten more intense since then.
Production Could Kick Off In 2024
Though an exact date has not yet been determined for when production will kick off for Heat 2, it could all get underway at some point in 2024. During the Contenders London event in October 2023, Deadline spoke with Michael Mann about the movie and if he was planning on making it his first project after Ferrari, and here’s what he had to say:
Yes. Meg Gardiner and myself wrote the novel Heat 2, which came out right when we were shooting Ferrari. It did very well. I plan to shoot that next.
In January 2024, Mann spoke with Variety about Heat 2 where he further reiterated that he had plans to start shooting at some point this year. However, at the time, he revealed he was putting the final touches on the script. If there are only some slight changes to make to the screenplay, the movie could very well start shooting at some point this summer.
Michael Mann Has Described Heat 2 As One Large Movie
There are movies and then there are Michael Mann movies, massive blockbusters with intense action, intricate sequences, and large scope and scale. And, based on comments the filmmaker has made in the past regarding Heat 2, his upcoming sequel will fit right in with his filmography. When speaking with Empire Magazine in 2022, he explained that the crime epic will be “one large movie,” stating:
It’s totally planned to be a movie. … Is it a modest movie? No. Is it a very expensive series? No. It’s going to be one large movie.
The first Heat, which sounds modest in comparison to Mann’s next project, had a runtime of nearly three hours (170 minutes to be precise), which means Heat 2 could be a very long movie before everything is said and done.
Expect to hear much more about Heat 2 in the coming weeks and months. But in the meantime, you could always revisit Heat and other great ‘90s action movies that are streaming for anyone with a Hulu subscription.
