Writer and director Michael Mann's Heat. Starring Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino, the action-thriller became a critical and commercial success, earning over $187 million at the box office.
Per Deadline, Heat 2 is close to starting development, with Driver attached to star as a younger version of De Niro's original character. The film will be an adaptation of Mann's original follow-up novel Heat 2, which tells both a prequel and sequel story. Written with co-author Meg Gardiner, the book hit the market last August and quickly became a New York Times bestseller. Mann plans to tackle Heat 2 following the release of his biopic Ferrari later this year.
What Will Heat 2 Be About
Since his theatrical debut with 1981's Thief starring James Caan, Mann has cultivated a strong career as both a writer and director. With a filmography to include Manhunter, The Last of the Mohicans, The Insider, Ali, and Collateral, Heat became one of Mann's most successful films, grossing $187 million against its $60 million budget. Pacino starred as Lieutenant Vincent Hanna, the leader of a squad tasked with stopping elite thief Neil McCauley (DeNiro) and his team. With one last major score on the table, McCauley attempts one of the biggest jobs of his career, stealing over $12 million from a heavily-guarded bank.
The Heat sequel will likely follow the original novel's plot, depicting events following the film's climactic bank robbery as well as detailing McCauley's crew in 1988. With McCauley killed by Hanna at the end of Heat, the sequel novel instead focuses on right-hand man Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer) and his escape to Southeast Asia. However, the book's prequel story stays with McCauley as he and his crew pull jobs up-and-down the American West Coast, along the U.S.-Mexico border, and in Chicago. Meanwhile, Hanna works as a young officer in the Chicago police department, working his way up the ranks as he tracks a violent group of home invaders.
With Driver set to star as a young McCauley, rumors have also attached Elvis' Austin Butler and Blonde's Ana de Armas to the highly-anticipated project. Butler is expected to take Kilmer's old role as Shiherlis, while de Armas has been associated with an early McCauley love interest. With Heat 2 not yet in preproduction, audiences must be patient for any significant updates.
Source: Deadline
