Oscar-winning actor Christian Bale is the latest name circling a lead role in Michael Mann‘s highly anticipated “Heat 2,” a sequel to the 1995 landmark heist film that saw Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Val Kilmer playing cops and robbers is easily one of the best examples of the crime/action genre from the 1990s.
Fellow Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio (“One Battle After Another”) is said to still be in the mix after the movie shifted from Warner Bros. to Amazon MGM Studios/United Artists, when the film’s costs became an issue with the former studio. Sadly, the report hailing from Deadline isn’t entirely sure who the two actors are aiming to play as “Heat 2” is expected to explore events years before and after the 1995 film, acting as a sort of prequel and sequel at the same time.
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Meg Gardiner co-wrote the book and script with Mann, as the project is expected to be slightly changed from the source material for the feature iteration, while also exploring locations outside of Los Angeles, such as Southeast Asia and Chicago (where Detective Vincent Hanna was previously working for the Chicago Police Department).
Some other names that had been previously mentioned to be wanted for roles included Adam Driver (“Ferarri”) and Austin Butler (“Caught Stealing”), but we don’t know if they’ll ultimately be part of the film. But given the multiple timelines covered, we could end up seeing actors being courted for both established and new characters.
Bale, you might remember, played federal agent Melvin Purvis in Mann’s period thriller “Public Enemies,” where the lawman was tasked by J. Edgar Hoover to track, arrest, or kill the wave of gangsters and robbers plaguing the United States, including the infamous John Dillinger. His introduction to audiences was shooting and killing infamous bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd, played by a young Channing Tatum (in a reduced role).
Filming is set to begin next year (telegraphing a potential 2027 release date for “Heat 2”) with Mann, Jerry Bruckheimer, Scott Stuber, Nick Nesbitt producing alongside executive producers Shane Salerno and Eric Roth.
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