Major Update on ‘Heat 2’

The sequel to the classic crime flick is finally on the way.

October 8, 2025, 2:19am

(FILES) In this file photo taken on December 5, 1995 US actors Robert De Niro (L) and Al Pacino (R) pose with director Michael Mann as they arrive for the world premiere of the film "Heat" in Burbank, California. – Michael Mann wants to make a big-screen sequel to "Heat," the iconic movie that brought Al Pacino and Robert De Niro together for the first time, the director has told AFP. The 1995 hit film starring Pacino as a Los Angeles detective pursuing De Niro's heist gang across the city is widely considered a classic crime thriller. Mann announced in 2016 that a novel inspired by "Heat" would be published by his own Harper Collins imprint, but shared fresh details of the book with AFP. "The novel is about two-thirds written, and it's the prequel to 'Heat' and its the sequel to 'Heat' rolled together," said Mann. "So it's everything before the movie and everything after the movie." (Photo by VINCE BUCCI / AFP) (Photo credit should read VINCE BUCCI/AFP via Getty Images)

After two years of planning and preparation on the sequel film to the legendary crime drama Heat, it seems like director Michael Mann’s crew is (finally) good.

In 2022, Mann released the novel Heat 2, a prequel/sequel to the original 1995 film. It became a #1 best-seller on every chart—unsurprising, given the movie’s popularity.

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Warner Bros. initially approached Mann to adapt the book into a film, but couldn’t agree with the director on a budget. Sources at The Hollywood Reporter said Warner would only agree to greenlight the film if Mann committed to not only Heat 2, but Heat 3. Given that Mann is 82 years old, that hardly seemed feasible, so Warner allowed Mann to take the project to other studios.

Now, the Amazon MGM Studios-owned United Artists has agreed to finance and distribute the project, ensuring the film will get made after all. Variety says the sequel will release in theaters, too.

Sources at Deadline say that Leonardo DiCaprio is in talks to star as criminal Chris Shiherlis, who was played by Val Kilmer in the original 1995 film.

No other cast members have been announced yet, but a source at The Film Stage says that “Everyone you can think of has met [Mann] on this,” including Adam Driver, Austin Butler, Bradley Cooper, Channing Tatum, and Jeremy Allen White.

Heat is often listed as one of the best crime dramas of all time, and is widely considered a stone-cold classic. In the original 1995 film, Al Pacino starred as Detective Vincent Hanna, who was tasked with tracking down the career criminals Chris Shiherlis (Kilmer) and Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro).