Michael Mann’s Heat 2 is among the highly anticipated movies that were announced in the last few years. The director follows up his 1995 crime thriller of the same name based on the best-selling novel he co-wrote with Meg Gardiner, which serves as both a prequel and sequel. The feature has changed many studios, going from Warner Bros. to Paramount, Sony, and finally Amazon MGM.

Heat 2 has roped in a stellar cast including Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale. Their roles were revealed previously, with Bale set to fill Al Pacino‘s shoes and take the lead as detective Vincent Hanna, while DiCaprio will step into the shoes of the late great Val Kilmer‘s character, Chris Shiherlis, the lone survivor of Neil McCauley’s (Robert De Niro) crew. Further, Stephen Graham is set to take on Robert De Niro’s role, while long-rumored Adam Driver was reportedly in talks to embody Otis Wardell, the serial killer who has haunted Vincent since the 1980s.

However, with most top-line talents set in place, the feature has been in development hell for a while, given Mann wanted a bigger budget than Warner Bros.’ desired $125 million, per a new report. That became one of the main reasons for Heat 2 to change studios. Eventually, the project landed at Amazon Prime, which also took creative control of the James Bond franchise recently.

‘Heat 2’ Will Begin Production This Year

Now Heat 2 is ready to go on the floor, as the report confirms, “with production scheduled to begin in November and Bale and DiCaprio fully onboard, ‘Heat 2’ has reached its final form.” The feature will be backed by F1 producer Jerry Bruckheimer alongside Mann, United Artists’ Scott Stuber, and Nick Nesbitt. As for the scope of the movie, it hasn’t shrunk at all and “features action sequences that dwarf the first film.” And that’s saying something because Heat has a legendary heist/gunfight that was so realistic that law enforcement agencies use it in training exercises.

The makers are expecting Heat 2 to be a global hit: “’Heat 2’ could do for men of different ages what ‘Barbie’ did for women,” a source revealed. “It won’t reach the same box office, but it could easily approach more than $500 million which would make the film profitable theatrically and then a huge hit for Amazon on their platform.”

No release date has been confirmed for Heat 2.

via Collider