With the long-gestating biopic “Ferrari” in the rearview mirror, what’s next for director Michael Mann? Mann has teased a couple of projects in development (like this sci-fi one), but it will most likely be “Heat 2,” an adaptation of the sequel novel to his 1995 film the director published in 2022. In a recent sit-down with Variety, Mann covered where the story of “Heat 2” picks up after the events of “Heat,” when he hopes to start shooting the film, and whether or not he’ll cast someone as talented as Val Kilmer to play Chris Shiherlis. Spoiler alert: no chance there.
For those who read “Heat 2,” Mann’s comments about his book will be no surprise. But those who have only watched his 1995 masterpiece will dig this info. “”Heat 2″ is a prequel and a sequel and is driving into the global future of transnational organized crime as it really moves, it’s kind of a giant step in that direction,” Mann told the outlet. The novel’s sweeping scope takes familiar characters to South East Asia, South America, as well as more familiar locales like LA, Las Vegas, and Chicago for a crime tale that spans decades. And along the way, Mann expands the lore of characters like Al Pacino‘s Vincent Hanna, Robert De Niro‘s Neil McCauley, and Kilmer’s Shiherlis. Shiherlis takes center stage in the novel as his narrow escape from LA in 1995 leads to a new life in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. But Hanna hasn’t forgotten about Shiherlis, and their paths soon cross again.
Mann is busy adapting his novel to the screenplay format, which should be quick, right? It’s not as fast as Warner Bros. would like. “So I’m busy writing the screenplay, so I get very respectful, very pleasant calls from Warner Bros. saying, ‘Is there anything we can do to help?’ which translates into, ‘Where’s the screenplay?'” Mann joked. But Mann thinks that process will be over soon.”My plan is to absolutely make it next year,” he added (the press days for “Ferrari” were in late December, so he definitely means 2024 (which Variety confirms).
And while Mann has other dream projects he still wants to make, like his science-fiction film and a WWII one he’s recently mentioned, it’s all about “Heat 2” right now. “The reason for “Heat 2′ was because there was so much depth in the characters and in the research that had been done for the movie,” he explained. “I knew what De Niro’s character Neil McCauley was doing when he was 11 years old when he was in a foster home and wore hand-me-down clothes and started turning savage. Or Al Pacino’s character Hanna, growing up in Granite City, Illinois, and not knowing what to do with his life, and winds up in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive.”
But the primary focus of “Heat 2” is Kilmer’s Shiherlis. “And then the one character who does not know himself, who isn’t complete, not unified, which is Chris Shiherlis, the Val Kilmer character,” continued Mann. “How and when he finds himself and becomes as integrated a player as McCauley or Hanna and taking that into South East Asia and, as well as Ciudad del Este in the three frontiers, all of these are places I visited and spent a lot of time exploring ad developed, so it’s truly an extension and so that’s what I’m most excited about right now.”
No one has been cast in “Heat 2” yet, but Mann will need to find someone special to follow in Kilmer’s footsteps for Shiherlis. “I could not figure out how Val Kilmer could tolerate being Val Kilmer,” the director recalled. “In any scene, an actor and director do scene analysis. What is the action or what does this character want? Sometimes, it’s in the text; sometimes, it’s in the subtext. Val would have seven or eight different reactions and modalities, every one of which was great. I couldn’t imagine having such artistic range and depth — more than it’s possible to control.”
If Mann indeed shoots “Heat 2” this year, expect the casting search to begin soon. And while Adam Driver‘s name is in the mix to play De Niro’s McCauley, it’ll probably be a more scrutinizing search for a new Chris Shiherlis. Any ideas on who could match Kilmer’s intensity in the role, readers? For those who’ve read Mann’s novel, Shiherlis is a whole new animal in the sequel, and Mann will need someone dynamic to match the character’s evolution.