Heat 2 just got one step closer to the multiplex. The much-anticipated sequel to Michael Mann‘s 1995 action epic has found a new studio home. Mann is set to bring the project to United Artists, which is part of Amazon MGM Studios. The move comes after Mann was unable to come to an agreement with Warner Bros., which released the original Heat, over the film’s proposed budget.

According to reports, the film has also landed two big-name producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, the baron of high-octane blockbusters, and Scott Stuber, the former Netflix executive who left the streaming giant last year to revive the venerable United Artists for Amazon. The project has been gestating for years: in 2022, Mann released Heat 2 in novel form, co-written with novelist Meg Gardiner. Mann has been working on bringing that book to the screen ever since, and numerous actors have been rumored to be up for roles, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Adam Driver, and Austin Butler. However, nothing is yet confirmed, and the project almost collapsed over Mann and WB‘s budget negotiations. Now, it’s the massive Amazon conglomerate that will foot the bill for Heat 2, an even more sprawling crime epic than its predecessor.

What is ‘Heat 2’ About?

Heat 2 serves as both a prequel and a sequel to Heat, which told the story of two unstoppable forces in collision: hard-charging LAPD detective Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) and meticulous criminal Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro). It goes back in time to 1980s Chicago, where McCauley’s crew are in their early days and Hanna stalks Otis Wardell, a remorseless home invader; it examines the immediate aftermath of Heat‘s climactic Los Angeles shootout in 1995, when Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer) escapes with his life and freedom, but has to abandon his wife and child; and then to the year 2000, where Hanna and Shiherlis’s paths cross once more, as they both face off against the sadistic Wardell. The book hit the New York Times Bestseller List, and Mann has discussed writing more novels in the universe of Heat.

After a lengthy hiatus from film-making folliwing the 2015 release of Blackhat, Mann has been productive in recent years. He executive produced the HBO series Tokyo Vice and directed its pilot, and directed his first film in eight years, Ferrari, in 2023.

Heat 2 is in development at United Artists; no casting or release date have yet been announced.

via Collider