Where exactly does this sit in a timeline? How does any of this work? Is this a Marvel? These are some of the questions being asked by movie fans after the last few pieces of the casting for Heat 2 fell into place.
The Michael Mann-directed sequel will shoot from November, and after a year of negotiations and circling several roles, Leonardo DiCaprio has signed on.
According to a report in The Wrap, DiCaprio will take on the role of Chris Shiherlis, as played by Val Kilmer in the 1995 original. This followed reports of several roles swapping between actors as DiCaprio was still deciding whether to take on this lead role, or the role of Neil McCauley. That was Robert DeNiro’s character from the original, but a much smaller role this time around.
Now DiCaprio has committed to Mann’s entire six-month film shoot across Chicago, Paraguay, Singapore, and Los Angeles.
Christian Bale will play cop Vincent Hanna, whom Al Pacino played in the original, with Jason Clarke up for fixer Nate, whom Jon Voight played in the original. Stephen Graham is reportedly in talks for the Neil McCauley role, with Adam Driver as the new villain.
Ashley Judd’s role of Sharlene is yet to be recast.
Amazon MGM Studios will pony up the budget of $170 million on Heat 2.
