Michael Mann Shares Positive Update on "Heat 2"

It has a good day for action fiends, because the highly-anticipated "Heat 2" just got the best update it had until today.

It has been a long time coming for the sequel to the 1995 Michael Mann movie, which fans have been anticipating since 2022, when the director published "Heat 2", the follow-up novel to the first one upon which the original film, "Heat", is based.

In recent times, Mann has expressed continuous commitment to the sequel, and fans will be excited to learn that the crime maven is indeed keeping to his word about prioritizing the project.

"Heat 2" is developed at Warner Bros. and could likely be the follow-up to Mann's most recent release, the biographical sports movie "Ferrari" (2023).

The latest update comes from Mann himself, who, during a recent interview with Vulture, revealed that the first draft for the sequel is finally complete. "I just finished the screenplay and handed in the first draft," said Mann when asked about the prequel's status.

Pressed for more details, Mann gave a cautious response, only revealing who's currently in possession of the script, adding: "In this case, it was Warner Brothers. Any more than that, I can’t talk about. But it’s an exciting project."

Mann has been tirelessly working on the first draft for some time now.

In his interview with Collider's Steve Weintraub last year, the director shared a bit of his schedule for completing the script, saying:"I’m finishing the screenplay, and at 2:30 this morning, it woke me up in the middle of the night. So, I'm in the middle of writing the screenplay, and I wound up driving through LA at 3 a.m., which is fantastic, there are no cars, and ended up at Canter's Delicatessen because that's the only thing open 24 hours. Then I sat in a booth and wrote there until about 9:00 this morning, trying to finish act four. It was ironic because it's the same booth I sat in when I wrote the first couple episodes of Starsky & Hutch back in the 1970s. Then The Jericho Mile and probably some early drafts of Heat."

With the first draft now ready, "Heat 2" has made major progress towards beginning principal photography. However, it's important to note that an advancement towards filming depends on Warner Bros' satisfaction with the script.

The production company might request rewrites or some tweaks, which could further delay the production process; however, given that Mann is adapting his own novel, those modifications could only be minimal. With that in mind, "Heat 2" should make another significant production progress, at least before the year runs out.

While no plot details have been made official yet, Mann is expected to faithfully adapt the second book. 

Described as both a prequel and a sequel, the follow-up film is expected to jump between two time periods. It will again bring to focus the original characters — career criminal Neil McCauley and Detective Vincent Hanna, played respectively by Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in the original. 

A key aspect of the prequel's story centers on Chris Shiherlis (played by Val Kilmer in the original), McCauley's right-hand man, as he tries to evade Detective Vincent and the LAPD after a bank robbery.

Regarding the casting, no concrete name has been unveiled just yet, however, speculations are that Adam Driver, who struck a chord with Mann while working on "Ferrari", could feature. Also, co-star Shailene Woodley has expressed desire to star in the sequel. 

Mann had originally planned to begin shooting "Heat 2" by early 2025; hopefully, with the latest update, the ace filmmaker can assemble his team for shooting before the year runs out.