We are not too far away from delving into the continuing adventures of Lieutenant Vincent Hanna in Michael Mann’s upcoming novel, Heat 2. While we await the book's release, Mann has revealed in discussion on the WTF Podcast with Marc Maron that work is already underway on what he promises will be a “very large movie.”

“This is a book, but it’s also going to be a very large movie,” Michael Mann teased during his appearance on the podcast. Asked to repeat whether Heat 2 will be a movie, Mann replied, “Oh yeah,” before revealing that work on the adaptation is already happening. “Yes, I can’t talk about it, but yes,” the filmmaker said to the excited squeals of Heat fans everywhere.

Mann even doubled down on the inevitability of Heat 2 becoming a movie, replying with a simple-and-clear “No” when Maron said that he had always thought the novel would be in place of a big screen sequel.

Released way back in 1995, the first Heat follows acting icons Al Pacino and Robert De Niro as a cop and a robber, respectively. Following the conflict between the LAPD detective and the career criminal, Heat explores how these two careers affect their professional relationships and personal lives. The movie has emerged as a seminal example of the crime thriller genre, with stunning performances backed up by equally stunning action sequences, including one of the greatest shoot-outs ever committed to screen.

Heat 2 will cover “the formative years of homicide detective Vincent Hanna (Oscar winner Al Pacino) and elite criminals Neil McCauley (Oscar winner Robert De Niro), Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer), and Nate (Oscar winner Jon Voight),” the synopsis for Heat 2 reads. The new story “leads up to the events of the film and then moves beyond it” as it ranges from “the streets of L.A. to the inner sancta of rival Taiwanese crime syndicates in Paraguay to a massive drug cartel money-laundering operation just over the border in Mexico.”

Mann has hinted at the scale of a silver screen Heat follow-up before saying, “It’s totally planned to be a movie. Is it a modest movie? No. Is it a very expensive series? No. It’s going to be one large movie.”

Heat 2 is Both a Prequel and a Sequel

The legacy of the first Heat truly cannot be understated, with expectations for the sequel palpable. Mann has revealed details of Heat 2, describing the story as both a prequel and a sequel, with the story set to explore the backstories of criminal colleagues Val Kilmer and his character Chris and Robert De Niro’s Neil McCauley, as well as the activities of Vincent Hanna following the events of the first outing.

“It’s so vivid, worked out and thorough that compelled us…we’ve written a novel. Not on Heat, but everything preceding Heat and everything following Heat and it’s because these characters are so vivid,” Mann said of the novel. “It’s been my intention for a long time to do the further stories of Heat. There was always a rich history or back-story about the events in these people’s lives before 1995 in Heat and projection of where their lives would take them after,” Mann added.

Written by Michael Mann and Edgar Award-winning author Meg Gardiner, Heat 2 is scheduled for release on 18 Aug 2022.