Michael Mann’s ‘Heat 2’ heading to United Artists

Thirty years after the release of Michael Mann’s Heat, the filmmaker’s follow-up to his lauded heist thriller is reportedly on its way to United Artists.

Based on Mann’s adaptation of Heat 2, the 2022 book he co-wrote with Meg Gardiner, the package was originally set up at Warner Bros before the studio allowed Mann to shop it around Hollywood when they could not agree on a budget.

The project would mark a prestige tentpole for the Amazon MGM Studios-owned label now run by former Netflix film head Scott Stuber. It is understood there have been no talent deals yet, although some reports have mentioned that Leonardo DiCaprio is circling the role of Chris Shiherlis played in the 1995 original by the late Val Kilmer.

Heat starred Robert De Niro as bank robber Neil McCauley and Al Pacino as detective Vincent Hanna – obsessive characters and two sides of the same coin whose lives collide when McCauley enlists his protegée Shiherlis and others in a Downtown Los Angeles heist that erupts into a spectacular shootout. The cast included Jon Voight, Ashley Judd, Amy Brenneman, Diane Venora, and the late Tom Sizemore.

Plot details remain under wraps, however the book serves as both a prequel and sequel to events in the 1995 film, recounting McCauley’s early-career robbery sprees, and the life of Shiherlis after the shootout as he tries to reunite with the love of his life.

Mann will produce Heat 2 with Jerry Bruckheimer, Stuber and Nick Nesbit. Shane Salerno and Eric Roth are the executive producers.

Warner Bros distributed Heat and while it earned $67m in North America and $120m internationally, the feature has come to be recognised as a classic of the genre.

United Artists had not responded for a comment at time of writing.

• Chris Aronson to depart as head of domestic distribution at Paramount Pictures