Michael Mann is waiting to hear back from the studio after working on Heat 2 for over a year. Mann has stated that audiences are ready for a new story in the Heat universe. “It’s sustained in culture. It’s known,” Mann said. “I could delude myself into thinking that the whole world is familiar with it, but when you check out its prominence in home video for over 20 years, this thing really has legs. People are still watching it, people are still talking about it. It’s a brand. It’s kind of a Heat universe, in a way. And that certainly justifies a very large ambitious movie.“ It has also been rumored that his Ferrari star, Adam Driver, and Elvis star, Austin Butler, are attached as a young McCauley and Shiherlis, especially as Butler was training at a gun range last year.
Now, according to the Hollywood insider, Puck, it seems as if Leonardo DiCaprio may be considered for a role in Heat 2. Months ago, Mann revealed in an interview with Vulture that he “just finished the screenplay and handed in the first draft.” When the publication tried to find out more information, Mann responded, “Any more than that, I can’t talk about. But it’s an exciting project.” Mann is reportedly in negotiations with Warner Bros. over the budget for his crime epic follow-up. His original estimate came out around $200 million, but he has since come down to somewhere in the vicinity of $170 million, according to sources. However, that number is still sitting too high for Warner’s liking. It’s the fact that Mann has been talking with DiCaprio about starring in the film that may help him get the budget he needs from the studio.
Reportedly, Warner Bros. is also open to partnering with another studio or streamer to produce the movie, so that could also help with his budget demands. His team is said to have sent a script to Apple Original Films.
It is not known what role DiCaprio is being considered for, but with the Heat 2 novel taking place both in the present day and in the past as both a sequel and prequel, perhaps DiCaprio could potentially be a candidate to portray modern-day Shiherlis, while Butler plays a younger version.
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