Heat is widely regarded as a crime movie classic from writer/director Michael Mann and now nearly 30 years later a sequel is in the works, aptly titled Heat 2.
Starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Val Kilmer, among others, Heat came out in 1995 and earned more than $187 million at the worldwide box office and has become adored by movie fans in large part for its incredible bank heist sequences and a brilliant scene between De Niro and Pacino that was actually the first time the two great actors shared the same scene (they both starred in The Godfather Part II, but never acted with each other).
Heat 2, which was originally written as a novel by Mann and Meg Gardiner, is set to explore events both before the original movie and in the aftermath of what happened.
Here is everything that we know right now about Heat 2.
Heat 2 release date
There is no word on when Heat 2 is going to come out, but it is going to be the next movie that Michael Mann works on, according to the filmmaker himself.
Deadline reports that at an event they hosted in London, when asked whether the Heat 2 novel would be his next project Mann responded by saying: "Yes. … I plan to shoot that next."
Mann is a very meticulous director, but with that commitment it seems unlikely we'll have the same kind of gap between his upcoming movie Ferrari and Heat 2 that there was between Ferrari and his previous movie, Blackhat (eight years).
Heat 2 plot
If you want to know what is going to happen in Heat 2, you can simply read the novel. But if you would prefer a quick summary, we can help out with that.
Heat 2 covers both events that take place before the story of the original 1995 movie and what happens to the survivors of the movie's climax years later. Specifically, it'll follow Neil McCauley and Chris Shiherlis in 1988 as they and their crew perform various robberies on the west coast, the US-Mexico border and in Chicago. Also in Chicago at that time is Vincent Hanna, who is making a name for himself in the Chicago Police Department chasing a violent gang of home invaders.
Heat 2 cast
No official casting has been announced for Heat 2 at this time. Though to discuss some of the big initial questions with casting we'll have to get into some of the original's details, so SPOILER ALERT for a movie that is almost 30 years old.
The first question is obviously going to be whether or not any of the original cast members are going to return. At the end of Heat, Hanna shoots and kills McCauley as he attempts to escape. So with no older McCauley, De Niro would not seemingly be able to return, but Pacino could be an option.
The other main member of the robbers to get away was Shiherlis, who was played by Val Kilmer. Despite a throat cancer diagnosis and subsequent tracheotomy, Kilmer has continued to act, including in 2022's Top Gun: Maverick. But like Pacino, there's no word on whether Kilmer would be brought back for Heat 2 at this time.
Deadline had previously reported that Adam Driver, Mann's leading man in Ferrari, was in talks to play the young Neil McCauley in the sequel, but nothing has been made official. At the Deadline event where Mann confirmed Heat 2 would be his next movie, he was asked about Driver being in the movie, to which the director said, "perhaps" and expressed how they enjoyed working together on Ferrari.
Heat 2 trailer
As the movie still seems to be in early development, we seem a ways away from having a Heat 2 trailer. But when one does become available online, we'll add it here.
Michael Mann movies
Michael Mann has been working behind the cameras as a director since the late 1960s, though his first feature movie did not come until 1981. Since then he has made a number of beloved movies, while also tipping his toe into TV with shows like Luck and Tokyo Vice. Let's just focus on the movies here though. Check out his feature directing credits to date (the aforementioned Ferrari is not yet released):
- Thief (1981)
- The Keep (1983)
- Manhunter (1986)
- The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
- Heat (1995)
- The Insider (1999)
- Ali (2001)
- Collateral (2004)
- Miami Vice (2006)
- Public Enemies (2009)
- Blackhat (2015)
How to watch Heat
If you're looking to watch Heat right now, it is currently streaming on Netflix, which of course requires a subscription. The movie is also available to rent or buy through digital on-demand.
