It looks like one thread from last week’s “Heat 2” casting story is now confirmed, as Deadline reports that Michael Mann has found his young Charlene Shiherlis in Odessa Young. Young’s casting follows news from two weeks ago that Inde Navarrette turned down the same role. On that front, Deadline also has an update: Mann eyes newcomer Maria Cid for Gabi, the role Navarrette was still in being considered for.
Young and Cid will join Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, Adam Driver, Stephen Graham, and Jason Clarke on Mann’s upcoming crime epic sequel. Expect more casting updates in the coming weeks, too, as Amazon MGM‘s current schedule has Mann starting production on “Heat 2” in November.
Based on the 2022 novel Mann co-wrote with Meg Gardiner, “Heat 2” is a sprawling, globetrotting sequel to the director’s 1995 masterpiece, toggling between two storylines set before and after the events of the original film. Most of the focus is on Chris Shiherlis, who escapes the aftermath of the “Heat” shootout that killed the rest of Neil McCauley’s crew to South America and becomes an enforcer in an international crime syndicate. Fate leads him back to Los Angeles, however, where Detective Vincent Hanna is still hungry to tie up loose ends from the past.
Producers for “Heat 2” include Mann, Jerry Bruckheimer, Scott Stuber, and Nick Nesbitt. Eric Roth and Shane Salerno exec produce the picture. Amazon MGM is high on the sequel’s prospects, giving Mann a lengthy shoot, a $170 million budget, and the green light to start plotting the story of a third movie in the series.
Charlene Shiherlis is arguably Young’s biggest role to date in her career. Other recent work include “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” and the Netflix series “Black Rabbit.” Other upcoming roles include two TV series: “Seven Sisters” on FX and “Rabbit, Rabbit“ for Netflix, a show that also co-stars her “Heat 2” co-star Driver.
Stay tuned for more casting news for “Heat 2” as it arrives.
