Michael Mannhas admitted he would love to make a follow-up to his iconicepic crime dramaHeat,even if he concedes that time may be running out to do so as the director enters his 9th decade. Speaking withVariety, the director — who’s currently on the promotional trail for his upcoming movie,Ferrari, which starsAdam Driveras the titular owner of the legendary motorsports company — said he would love to make the film, but if he can’t, he could live with it. Driver was reported to bein negotiations for theHeatsequelearlier this year.
Last year, Mann found the time to write a 500-page novel entitledHeat 2, alongsideMeg Gardiner,which served as both a prequel and a sequel toHeat. The novel was well received, and the love Mann has for the story is evident. The novel acts as a prequel forRobert De Niro’s career criminal Neil McCauley, the crew leader from the first film, and is also a sequel forAl Pacino’s Vincent Hanna, the dogged LAPD lieutenant tasked with hunting down McCauley through the streets of Los Angeles.
“In the prequel, I don’t want them to be the same people that they are in the movie. I want them to be very different. It’s what befalls them — the conflicts, the tragedies that happen to them — that made them into the people they are. For Neil, it’s the events of the prequel that give him the gospel ‘Don’t have anything in life you can’t walk away from in 30 seconds'."
When asked if he felt he might be running out of time to make the film, now that he’s in his 80s, he offered this reply: “The thing is, I don’t think about mortality. I’m busy. What good would it do me? If I absolutely had to make ‘Heat 2,’ I wouldn’t have got lost in this beautiful story ofFerrari.” Mann continued saying, “And I took two years to write a novel. Fortunately, it became aNew York Times No. 1 bestseller. The things I’m into are things that fascinate me and keep me moving forward. Don’t misunderstand. I want to make it. But if I don’t, I won’t be incomplete.”
What MadeHeatSo Compelling?
First and foremost, the film boasts an ensemble cast led by two legendary actors,Al Pacino and Robert De Niro,sharing the screen in a riveting face-off. Their portrayal of complex characters, a dedicated cop and a seasoned criminal adds layers of depth to the story.
One of the film’s standout qualities is its meticulous attention to realism. Mann’s direction immerses the audience in the gritty, urban landscape of Los Angeles. The city itself becomes a character, with Mann’s signature use of practical effects in action sequences, like the intense bank heist and the iconic street shootout, providing an unparalleled sense of authenticity and tension.
