1995’s “Heat” is arguably one of the more mainstream commercial successes of Michael Mann‘s directing career and is still considered by many, like myself, as one of the greatest action films in cinema history and not just 1990s. Mann managed to elevate the material (A remake of his television movie “L.A. Takedown” that aired on NBC in 1989) with the help of high-profile actors like Al Pacino and Robert De Niro taking lead roles alongside others such as Val Kilmer. The pic pits two groups of extremely efficient Los Angeles professionals working both sides of the street. A slick twist on the classic cops and robbers genre with the LAPD major crimes unit closing in on a team of highly skilled heist-men after a job goes south in the opening of the film.

A novel co-written by Mann and Meg Gardiner covering the events before and after the original film in 1988/2000 was recently released with the aim of turning it into a follow-up feature film. While chatting recently with Variety to promote his current release, “Ferrari,” a biopic about the famed sports car and racing magnate Enzo Ferrari starring Adam Driver (“Marriage Story”), the filmmaker shared a minor update on the current status of “Heat 2.” Stating that while he was still ironing out the script, there are plans to shoot the prequel/sequel sometime in 2024.

Mann says he has plans for “Heat 2” to shoot in 2024, and has been putting the final touches on the script that he calls both a “prequel and sequel.”

A good sign that official casting news is on the horizon as most of the roles will have to be recast due to the timeline of the novel. Last April, Driver was reportedly up for a lead role and reunion but has yet to be made official.

Here is the book’s synopsis via publisher Harper Collins which will be the inspiration for the upcoming crime thriller:

One day after the end of ‘Heat,’ Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer) is holed up in Koreatown, wounded, half delirious, and desperately trying to escape LA. Hunting him is LAPD detective Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino). Hours earlier, Hanna killed Shiherlis’s brother in arms Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) in a gunfight under the strobe lights at the foot of an LAX runway. Now Hanna’s determined to capture or kill Shiherlis, the last survivor of McCauley’s crew, before he ghosts out of the city.

In 1988, seven years earlier, McCauley, Shiherlis, and their highline crew are taking scores on the West Coast, the US-Mexican border, and now in Chicago. Driven, daring, they’re pulling in money and living vivid lives. And Chicago homicide detective Vincent Hanna—a man unreconciled with his history—is following his calling, the pursuit of armed and dangerous men into the dark and wild places, hunting an ultraviolent gang of home invaders.

Meanwhile, the fallout from McCauley’s scores and Hanna’s pursuit cause unexpected repercussions in a parallel narrative, driving through the years following Heat.

While there are plans to shoot “Heat 2” in 2024, we don’t have a production timetable for that, a release date, or a full cast of actors outside of Driver being in talks. So, as things are coming together nicely we’re not there just yet. We’re sure more updates are coming later in the year, stay tuned.

SOURCE: VARIETY