One of the most anticipated sequels of all time is filming in 2024

❘ Published: 2024-01-05T10:24:34

Warner Bros.

Neil McCauley once said, “I told you I’m never going back.” Well, the same can’t be said for Michael Mann: this year, he’s gearing up to make a sequel to his greatest movie.

In 1995, Mann released his cops-and-robbers masterpiece. It starred Robert DeNiro as McCauley and Al Pacino as Vincent Hanna, a goatee-toting thief and detective who don’t know how to do anything else. “I do what I do best; I take scores. You do what you do best; try to stop guys like me.”

Its influences can’t be understated: The Town, Den of Thieves, The Dark Knight, and particularly Grand Theft Auto V (right down to its climactic heist at the Federal Reserve) all have Heat in their DNA.

In August 2022, Mann teamed with Meg Gardiner for Heat 2, an acclaimed novel that picks up after the film but also explores the earlier years of the characters’ lives. Soon, it’ll be transformed into a movie.

Michael Mann will shoot Heat 2 in 2024

In a recent interview with Variety, Mann said he plans to “absolutely make” Heat 2 in 2024. He also described it as both a “prequel and sequel” to the original film.

He’s currently putting together the screenplay. “So I get very respectful, very pleasant calls from Warner Bros. saying, ‘Anything we can do to help?’ Which translates to, ‘Where’s the screenplay?’,” he added.

Michael Mann confirms that ‘HEAT 2’ will begin filming this year.

Adam Driver is in talks to star.https://t.co/ShGgFoSnac pic.twitter.com/Z8sHx4VrZk
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) January 4, 2024

As for who’ll take on the iconic roles, Adam Driver seems to be the frontrunner to play McCauley, coming after their collaboration in Ferrari. “Perhaps. We don’t talk about that yet,” he told Deadline in October last year.

“Let me put it this way: Adam and I got along like a house on fire. We have the same work ethic – which is pretty intense. We like each other, and we had a great time working together artistically.”

Fans have been lobbying for other stars to appear: some want Oscar Isaac to play Hanna, while others feel Jon Bernthal would be a stronger choice for McCauley – especially given Mann’s brutal comments to him earlier in his career.

The official synopsis for the novel reads: “This new story leads up to the events of the film and then moves beyond it, featuring new characters on both sides of the law, new high-line heists, and breathtakingly cinematic action sequences.

“Ranging from the streets of LA to the inner sancta of rival Taiwanese crime syndicates in Paraguay to a massive drug cartel money-laundering operation just over the border in Mexico, HEAT 2 illuminates the dangerous workings of international crime organizations and the agents who pursue them as it provides a full-blooded portrait of the men and women who inhabit both worlds.”

Heat 2 doesn’t have a release date yet. You can check out our other TV & movie hubs below: