Director Michael Mann's sequel "Heat 2" is moving forward, and it is already drawing strong interest from top talent. It has been previously reported that Leonardo DiCaprio is in talks to join the cast of Mann's follow-up to the classic 1995 crime drama that starred Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. And now, it seems that Christian Bale is circling a major role. DiCaprio and Bale's roles are unknown at this time.
The film is being developed for Amazon MGM Studios and United Artists, and production is expected to begin next year for a 2027 release. Mann wrote the script based on his own 2022 bestseller co-authored with Meg Gardiner, which follows Val Kilmer's character Chris Shiherlis as he flees the LAPD and Lt. Vincent Hanna (Pacino) after the failed bank robbery from the original film. The story is both a sequel and a prequel that moves through multiple locations in North America, South America and Southeast Asia.
The second storyline is set in 1988 Chicago, and it follows McCauley, Shiherlis and their high-line crew as they execute scores on the West Coast, the U.S.-Mexico border and in the Windy City. At the same time, Hanna is cutting his teeth as a rising star in the Chicago Police Department chasing an ultraviolent gang of home invaders.
Mann, Jerry Bruckheimer, Scott Stuber, Nick Nesbitt will produce the film, while executive producers include Shane Salerno and Eric Roth. The film's budget is estimated at $150 million, and is also slated to receive $37.2 million in California tax credits, with a 77-day shoot planned in Los Angeles in 2026.
The sequel was originally set up at Warner Bros, but after a budgetary dispute, the studio exited the project in August 2025. In October 2025, Amazon MGM Studios' United Artists label beat out studios including Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures for rights to the project.
Mann had this to say about the film's budget: "Heat 2’ is an expensive movie to make, but I believe it should be made at the proper size and scale. It's going to shoot in Chicago, Los Angeles and Paraguay, and possibly some parts of Singapore. People make dramas at a certain budget level, because of the costs, not because of anybody being greedy. If it was at a lower price, I could have made it anywhere. But it's complex. I can't get into all the politics of it".
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