Heat 2 Is Finally In The Works From The Original Director, And He's Eyeing A Star Wars Favorite As Robert De Niro’s Character

Last year, fans of Michael Mann’s Heat were treated to something special: Heat 2, a novel the director co-wrote with author Meg Gardiner that served as both a prequel and a sequel to the 1995 crime drama. But even long before the book’s release, Mann expressed interest in adapting it for film. Now it’s been revealed that Warner Bros. looking to move forward with the Heat 2 movie, and a Star Wars favorite is being eyed to play Robert De Niro’s role from the original.

According to Deadline, Adam Driver, who played Kylo Ren in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, is in discussions with Michael Mann to play a younger version of Neil McCauley in Heat 2. While both his involvement and Warner Bros.’ isn’t set in stone just yet, given that Heat was a WB release, that gives the studio a pretty good chance of releasing the sequel too. Should that happen, the outlet mentioned that New Regency “would be given opportunity to co-finance production,” just like with the first movie.

In Heat, Robert De Niro’s Neil McCauley led the crew that was pulling off the bold heists around Los Angeles, with his allies including Val Kilmer’s Chris Shiherlis and the late Tom Sizemore’s Michael Cheritto. McCauley’s illegal activities soon drew the attention of Al Pacino’s Lieutenant Vincent Hanna, and while they built a begrudging respect for one another, the movie ended with (SPOILER alert) the latter shooting the former as he attempted to escape from the police. Heat was met with largely positive reviews and made over $187 million worldwide off a reported $60 million budget.

In addition to following along with what happened to Chris Shiherlis in the years after the events of Heat, Heat 2 follows Neil McCauley and his crew pulling off heists in Chicago in 1988, while Vincent Hanna is investigating a gang of home invaders in the same series. Again, Driver playing Neil isn’t set in stone yet, but considering he’s already worked with Michael Mann on the upcoming Ferrari, that certainly bodes well for him coming aboard. As of this writing, there’s no word on who’s being looked at to play Vincent Hanna and Chris Shiherlis.

This Heat 2 news comes a few weeks after Adam Driver led the sci-fi movie 65, and his other notable credits from recent years include Black KkKlansman, Marriage Story, The Last Duel and House of Gucci. In addition to Ferrari and potentially Heat 2 coming up for him, Driver is also part of the star-studded ensemble cast for Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. Ferrari will be Michael Mann’s first movie since 2015’s Blackhat, though he did direct an episode of Tokyo Vice, which can be streamed with an HBO Max subscription.

Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates on Heat 2’s progress, including if/when it’s confirmed Adam Driver will take over as Neil McCauley. Make sure you’re also up to speed on the movies slated for this year by looking through our 2023 release schedule.