‘Heat’ sequel to start filming in 2026

The Heat sequel has been confirmed to start filming next year, according to director Michael Mann.

A follow-up to the fan-favourite 1995 film has been in the works for a number of years, with Mann planning to adapt his 2022 sequel novel, which takes place both before and after the events of the first film, for the big screen.

The director has now given an update on where things stand with the film at the Busan International Film Festival.

“I look forward to possibly shooting it in 2026,” he said (via Variety). “We’re in the middle of doing all the things — budgeting, scheduling, casting process.”

Back in 2023, Mann revealed that Heat 2 will be his next project after that year’s Ferrari, also addressing reports that Adam Driver will appear in the sequel.

“Perhaps. We don’t talk about that yet,” he told Deadline’s Contenders London event. “Let me put it this way: Adam and I got along like a house on fire [on Ferrari]. We have the same work ethic – which is pretty intense. We like each other, and we had a great time working together artistically.”

The year before that, he said that his sequel novel was “totally planned to be a movie,” further teasing to Empire: “Is it a modest movie? No. Is it a very expensive series? No. It’s going to be one large movie.”

The original Heat stars Al Pacino and Robert De Niro as a LAPD cop and thief who face off, and features a supporting cast including Tom Sizemore, Diane Venora, Jon Voight, Val Kilmer and Danny Trejo.

Speaking to NME in 2023 about the first film’s legacy, Mann noted that Heat is “a huge brand”, adding: “There’s some studies that I’ve done within the industry… people are kind of getting tired of superhero movies and are becoming more interested in pictures like Heat, if you like.

“But it’s been a huge brand in Warner Brothers home video for the last 20 years in terms of rentals. So we found that out when I wrote Heat 2, the novel… it was the first week out, it was instantly a number one New York Times bestseller.”