Michael Mann wants to make Heat 2 a movie – Exclusive

For nearly three decades, Michael Mann Heat stood out as a celebrated crime epic: a three-hour cat and mouse monster with jaw-dropping performances by Al Pacino and Robert De Niro as cop Vincent Hanna and criminal Neil McCauley, respectively. Now, after all these years, Mann is back with a direct, even called, sequel heat 2. It may not be in the expected format. By the end of the summer, its sequel will be released as a novel, set before and after the film in a The Godfather Part II sequel-prequel structure, centered mainly on Hanna and Chris Shiherlis (the character played in the film by Val Kilmer). But at the same time heat 2 first comes in book form, says Mann Empire who also intends to do it for the big screen.

“It’s totally designed to be a movie,” Mann says in the upcoming major new interview Avatar: The way of water theme. He is aware that a theatrical release would be a big undertaking, and as he ventured into serialized territory with this year’s film vice tokyo series, does not see heat 2 as a small screen proposal. “Is it a modest film? No. Is it a very expensive series? Does not say. “It will be a great movie”.

There are only a few critical points. For starters, De Niro and Kilmer couldn’t reprise their roles (“I love those guys, but they should be six years younger than they were in Heat“). Plus, it should be able to be successful in today’s Hollywood landscape. But Mann relies on the strength of the 1995 original. “It’s rooted in culture,” he reasons. “You know. I might be wrong thinking everyone knows, but when you check its importance in home video for over 20 years, this thing really has legs. People still watch it, people still talk about who a brand is. Heat universe, in a sense. And this certainly deserves a big and ambitious film. “

For now, though, fans can get stuck on the page in August. “The skill with which you can dive deep into the inner world is fascinating and you can do it best in a novel,” says Mann, explaining the book’s approach first. “I try to evoke this experience in the films I make, to place the audience in the inner world of a character. The form of the novel allows me an even broader scenario. Stay tuned to see if the movie version picks up any of it, well, Heat In the years to come.

Lily EmpireThe full interview with Michael Mann in Avatar: The way of water issue, on sale Thursday 7 July e available to order online here. by Mann heat 2 The novel, co-written with Meg Gardiner, will be released on August 18.