Robert De Niro in ‘Heat’. Picture: X
AFTER almost three decades, Michael Mann is set to make a sequel to his hugely successful crime drama, “Heat”.
The 1995 movie featured a star-studded cast with Al Pacino, Robert de Niro, Jon Voight, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Diana Venora, Amy Brenneman, Ashley Judd, Mykelti Williamson, Wes Studi and Ted Levine.
Mann wrote and directed the film, which follows the conflict between an LAPD detective (Pacino) and a career thief (De Niro).
The 81-year-old filmmaker recently announced that “Heat 2” is in the works, 29 years after the first movie’s release.
He told the “Los Angeles Times” that he wants to begin shooting the film by the end of 2024 or the beginning of 2025.
Mann also added to “Deadline”: “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.”
According to reports, the book jumps between two time periods. The first follows Chris Shiherlis (Kilmer) as he tries to evade the LAPD and Detective Vincent Hanna (Pacino) following the bank robbery gone wrong, while the second storyline takes place in Chicago in 1988.
The novel also explores what happens to the surviving characters in the following years.
Meanwhile, Adam Driver and Austin Butler are rumoured to be taking over De Niro and Kilmer’s roles.
Mann worked with Driver on his latest film, “Ferrari”, and when he was asked if he would work with him for the “Heat” sequel, he said: “Perhaps. We don’t talk about that yet.
“Let me put it this way: Adam and I got along like a house on fire [on ‘Ferrari’].
“We have the same work ethic – which is pretty intense. We like each other, and we had a great time working together artistically.”
“Heat” is regarded as one of the most influential films of its genre and has inspired several other works.
It grossed $187 million (R3.4 billion) on a $60 million budget, while receiving positive reviews for Mann's direction and Pacino and De Niro’s performances.