Mann announced the news on his Twitter account with a short 1-minute trailer set to Moby’s God Moving Over the Face of the Water, which is the song used at the end of the original Warner Bros. film. Heat 2 is the debut novel from Michael Mann Books, which has signed a multi-million dollar deal with HarperCollins imprint William Morrow.
RELATED: Robert De Niro Producing A Long-Awaited Midnight Run Sequel
The original film starred acclaimed actors Al Pacino and Robert De Niro as police lieutenant Vincent Hanna and master thief Neil McCauley, respectively, who are ensnared in a cat and mouse game in the criminal underworld of LA. The film marked the first time that Pacino and De Niro were featured together on screen. Both actors starred in The Godfather Part II, but their characters’ stories took place during different time periods, so they were never featured in any scenes together. Heat also starred Val Kilmer, Ashley Judd, Diane Verona, and Jon Voight.
Speaking to Deadline, Mann said of the new novel, “It’s been my intention for a long time to do the further stories of Heat. There was always a rich history or back-story about the events in these people’s lives before 1995 in Heat and projection of where their lives would take them after.” The novel reportedly begins with a wounded Chris Shiherlis (The character played by Kilmer in the film) as he attempts to escape LA. From there the story moves between the six years preceding the film and the years immediately following it. While Heat 2 will feature an eclectic cast of new characters, it will also delve deeper into the lives and backstories of the characters from the original film.
While Mann’s 1995 film didn’t receive many accolades at the time of its release, Heat is widely considered to be one of the best and most influential crime thrillers in cinematic history. Inspired by real-life criminals and detectives, the film exemplifies many of Mann’s trademark qualities as a filmmaker, including the LA criminal setting and his use of intense action sequences. It features a now-famous shootout that to this day stands the test of time for its incredible direction and sound design.
While a sequel in the form of a novel may not be what fans of the film expected, it’s still exciting that the director will be able to revisit these classic characters.
Heat 2 will be available on August 9th, 2022.
MORE: Scream, No Way Home, Matrix Resurrections & The Rise Of The Self-Aware Sequel
Source: Michael Mann | Twitter, Deadline
