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Clearly enjoying the work he’s done with him on the upcoming Enzo Ferrari biopic, Michael Mann is reportedly set to reteam with Adam Driver for Heat 2, the follow-up to his iconic 1990s heist movie that featured Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.
Based on Mann’s novel Heat 2, Driver is set to star as a young Neil McCauley in the film, which was the character iconically played by De Niro in 1995 original.
Heat 2 was originally published as a book, which was released last Summer. Here’s what the original report from Deadline has to say about its story and how it will be adapted to film:
Heat 2 was penned by Mann and Meg Gardiner and is not a novelization of Mann’s film, rather it tells the story of everything that happens before and after to the principal characters. The book jumps between two time periods, the first following Chris Shiherlis as he tries to evade the LAPD and Detective Vincent Hanna following the bank robbery gone bad and moves forward into new territory in the tri-border zone and Southeast Asia.
There’s also a second story line that takes place prior to the events of the original film, making the book both a prequel and a sequel”
The second storyline takes readers back to Chicago in 1988 when McCauley, Shiherlis and their high-line crew are taking scores on the West Coast, the U.S.-Mexico border, and in Chicago. At the same time, Hanna is cutting his teeth as a rising star in the Chicago police department chasing an ultraviolent gang of home invaders. The fallout from McCauley’s scores and Hanna’s pursuit cause unexpected repercussions in a parallel narrative.
While no other casting decisions have been reported, there have long been unconfirmed rumors that actors such as Ana de Armas and Austin Butler were also circling parts in the projects. Additionally, some rumors have indicated that Pacino could return to play Vincent Hanna.
As for the aforementioned Ferrari — which also stars Penelope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Jack O’Connell, Patrick Dempsey, and more — that’s set to his theaters sometime this year, although it does not have an official release date. Filming, however, has been completed, as production wrapped back in October 2022.
In addition to Ferrari, Driver also starred in the sci-fi misfire 65 this year, which hit theaters back in March. He also recently completed production on Francis Ford Coppola’s $100M+ passion project Megalopolis.
Alongside Driver, Megalopolis features an ensemble cast that includes the likes of Forest Whitaker, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jason Schwartzman, Dustin Hoffman, Giancarlo Esposito, and more.
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