In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Oscar-nominated scribe Michael Mann confirmed that he’s “in discussion” with Star Wars vet Adam Driver to lead Heat 2.
Should Driver indeed join the project, this would be his second collaboration with Mann following the upcoming Ferrari biopic. It’s currently unclear which character Driver would be playing, but recent rumors suggest that he might be up for the role of a younger version of Robert De Niro‘s Neil McCauley. Additionally, Mann addressed comparisons between Driver and De Niro and Al Pacino, who were both the original stars of Mann’s 1995 crime thriller movie.
“I think it’s apt to compare him to De Niro and Pacino, but I don’t think it’s generational,” Mann said. “I think it’s about approach and commitment to the moment, having no hesitations or qualms about really reaching for the high E on the violin or walking on a tightrope without a net underneath. Al does that. So, it’s artistic ambition, which is different than career ambition. [It’s] the kind of artistic ambition that drives one to try to achieve something and overcomes hesitation and fear. So, there’s no fear.
“There is anxiety, that you’re not going to pull it off, but you still go for it. Adam has that quality, and that’s very similar to a whole number of actors that I like to work with, whether it’s Daniel [Day-Lewis] or Bob [De Niro] or Ansel Elgort for that matter. It’s also Mark Ruffalo. It’s an attitude about your work. And by the way, it’s not ‘work’ as a four-letter word. It’s work as a fantastic adventure, and why would you want to do it any other way?”
What to expect in Heat 2?
Heat 2 will be based on Mann’s recently released follow-up novel to the 1995 crime drama film starring Pacino as Lt. Vincent Hanna and De Niro as criminal Neil McCauley. Described as a both a prequel and sequel, it feature stories that occur in both 1989 and 2002 with its cast of characters. The novel is co-written by Mann and Meg Gardiner.
Heat also starred Val Kilmer, Natalie Portman, Diane Venora, Tom Sizemore, Hank Azaria, Ashley Judd, Danny Trejo, and more.
