Michael Mann’s upcoming Heat 2 has seen virtually every acclaimed performer become rumored as attached to the project, with the latest report claiming that Adolescence and Peaky Blinders star Stephen Graham has been offered the role of a young Neil McCauley, originally played by Robert De Niro. The new movie, based on Mann’s novel, follows both Neil McCauley in the years leading up to the events of Heat and Vincent Hanna in the years after the movie. Hanna was previously played by Al Pacino.
This latest update comes courtesy of Nexus Point News. Interestingly, while the new film would be a prequel for McCauley’s character, Graham is currently 52, which is how old De Niro was in the original movie. The events of the Heat 2 novel take place seven years before the original movie.
Given the various top-tier talent who have been rumored to be joining Heat, from Adam Driver to Jeremy Allen White to Leonardo DiCaprio, a lot of theories have circled about who could be taking on the iconic role from De Niro. Graham likely wasn’t the first name that came to fans’ minds, though he’s been securing a number of impressive supporting characters over the years, having worked with Mann on Public Enemies and having worked with De Niro in The Irishman. Graham’s major break came this year with Adolescence, which he created and starred in, with his role scoring him an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.
What We Know About ‘Heat 2’
To the surprise of many, Mann released Heat 2 back in 2022, which he co-wrote with Meg Gardiner. The original movie is not only a defining movie of the ’90s, but also a seminal heist movie of all time. In this sense, expectations were high for Mann’s novel, only for the book to meet and, according to some, exceed expectations. Virtually ever since its release, rumors circulated about the book being adapted into a film, with Mann himself confirming in early 2023 that the project was officially moving forward.
Driver collaborated with Mann for Ferrari, resulting in discussions about the actor joining the project, while Elvis star Austin Butler was rumored to be playing Chris Shiherlis, who was originally played by Val Kilmer. Other rumored stars include Christian Bale, Ana De Armas, Channing Tatum, and Bradley Cooper. Al Pacino is also rumored to be starring in the movie, likely reprising his role from the original Heat.
At this point, the only actor who has admitted that they are starring in the movie is DiCaprio, though he denied confirmation of who he would be playing. While speaking with Deadline, DiCaprio detailed:
“This is very much its own movie. We’re still working on it, we’re a ways away from production. It tips its hat to Heat, but it’s an homage, and it picks up the story from there. The book is already out there, so there are no big secrets that I’m divulging. It’s set in the future, and the past, from that pivotal moment in what I think is the great crime noir film of my lifetime. It’s one of those films that just keeps resonating, that we keep talking about, that has been imitated so many times and influenced so many different movies. So, we’re working on it. But it’s certainly exciting, and I think I look at it as its own silo, in a sense. We can’t duplicate what Heat was, so it’s paying homage to that film, but giving it its own unique entity.”
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