The long-awaited sequel to Michael Mann’s Heat has arrived but not as many expected, as Heat 2 is actually a novel – but will it become a movie at some point? In 1995, Michael Mann brought the crime drama Heat, starring two of the biggest stars at the time: Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, marking their first on-screen appearance together. Heat was a critical and commercial success, and it’s regarded as one of the most influential movies of its genre, serving as inspiration for many other works not only on the big screen but also on TV shows and even video games.
Heat follows Vincent Hanna (Pacino), an LAPD Lieutenant with a strained relationship with his wife and struggling to connect with his stepdaughter, and Neil McCauley (De Niro), a professional thief also dealing with personal issues. Hanna and his crew have been tracking down McCauley and his crew, and it soon becomes a game of cat-and-mouse with lots of betrayals and also a lot of lessons for both Hanna and McCauley, as in the process, they end up exploring different facets of their personal lives. Heat told a complete story and brought the arcs of its characters to an end, but talks about a sequel began in 2016, though it wasn’t planned to be a “traditional” sequel.
Back in 2016, Mann announced plans to develop a Heat prequel novel, and in 2020, he revealed the novel would work as both a prequel and a sequel to the movie. Heat 2 was released on August 9, 2022, and there are a bunch of questions about its future, mostly if it will be adapted to the big screen at some point.
Why Michael Mann’s Heat 2 Is A Book, Not A Movie
Although the most “natural” way to make Heat 2 would have been as a movie, it actually makes more sense for it to be a novel given how much time has passed since Heat was released. Speaking to the LA Times ahead of the publishing of Heat 2, Mann revealed it took some persuasion from his agent to decide that a novel was the best format for a sequel, and the main reasons for that were that all the actors are “no longer age-appropriate” to reprise their roles, and writing Heat 2 as a novel allowed him to revisit the era and the characters without the restraints of casting decisions.
What Is Heat 2’s Story About?
Heat 2 is set before and after the movie’s events, allowing the audience to reunite with the surviving characters while learning more about their lives and activities before Heat. Heat 2, then, follows Chris Shiherlis (played by Val Kilmer), the last man from McCauley’s crew alive by the end of Heat, and who is now looking for a way to get out of L.A. Shiherlis takes a flight to Paraguay, where he works security for the Taiwanese conglomerate behind a black-market software scheme. Shiherlis’ story is intertwined with that of McCauley’s crew in 1988 as they try to take down a drug cartel in Mexicali, while Hanna is tracking down a home-invasion gang that is all about torture.
Will Heat 2 Ever Become A Movie?
Although Heat 2 was brought to life as a novel, Michael Mann has already confirmed he has plans to bring it to the big screen. Speaking to Empire ahead of the novel’s release, Mann said Heat 2 is “totally planned to be a movie”, though he admits it’s a very ambitious project, not just in terms of scale and budget, but also due to the legacy and impact of the original movie.
Heat 2’s Cast: Could The Original Actors Return?
If Heat 2 does become a movie, the biggest obstacle Mann and crew will encounter is casting. Many years have passed since the release of Heat and the actors (all of them) are now too old to reprise their roles, and it’s unlikely Mann would opt for de-aging technology, as Martin Scorsese did in The Irishman. Heat 2 would have to recast all of its main characters, which adds more excitement to the project.
Heat 2 Release Date Prediction
Michael Mann might have plans to bring Heat 2 to the big screen, but that doesn’t mean it’s official. That said, it’s difficult to predict when the movie adaptation of Heat 2 could arrive, but supposing it’s greenlit in late 2022/early 2023, and given the magnitude of the project, Heat 2 could be released in 2025 at the earliest.
