After months of speculation and rumors, Heat 2 may finally have its leading men. The Oscar-winning duo of Christian Bale and Leonardo DiCaprio are circling the lead roles in the much-anticipated sequel to Michael Mann‘s 1995 crime epic. The film is set to begin shooting next year.
According to reports, Bale and DiCaprio are looking to headline the film; a number of other prominent actors, including Adam Driver and Austin Butler, have reportedly been attached to the production, although no official statements have yet been made regarding the casting of the film. The long-in-the-works production was originally set to be made at Warner Bros, who released the original film; however, disputes over the film’s budget led it to move to the newly revived United Artists, an arm of Amazon MGM Studios; there, it will be produced by mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer. There is no indication yet as to which of the film’s roles DiCaprio and Bale would be playing. Bale and Mann have worked together before: the star played FBI agent Melvin Purvis in Mann‘s Depression-era gangster film Public Enemies.
What is ‘Heat 2’ About?
Although Heat did not begin as a book, Mann, together with co-writer Meg Gardiner, released Heat 2 as a novel in 2022 to great acclaim and sales success, with the intention of making it into a feature film. The film is set over three time periods. In the first, Vincent Hanna (played by Al Pacino in the film) is a Chicago cop in 1988 on the trail of merciless home invader Otis Wardell; criminals Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro), Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer), and their crew also run afoul of Wardell. The second time period of the book takes place immediately after Heat‘s explosive finale; Shiherlis, the final surviving member of McCauley’s crew, is wounded and on the run, having abandoned his wife and child to escape the law. The third takes place several years after Heat; Wardell resurfaces in Los Angeles in 2000, and crosses paths with an aging Hanna just in time for Shiherlis to return to town, looking to settle some old scores.
Bale can next be seen as Frankenstein’s monster in Maggie Gyllenhaal‘s The Bride!, a reimagining of The Bride of Frankenstein. He will also play legendary Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis in Madden, frequent collaborator David O. Russell‘s new biopic of football coach and video game impresario John Madden.
Heat 2 is set to begin production next year.
via Collider