Jason Clarke Circling Michael Mann's 'Heat 2'
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- Jason Clarke is being eyed to join the cast of Michael Mann's 'Heat 2' from Amazon MGM Studios and United Artists; reps for both the actor and Amazon declined comment and no cast deals are in place.
- Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale are also rumored to be circling the project, which would reunite Clarke and Mann after their 2009 collaboration Public Enemies.
- Michael Mann will direct 'Heat 2' from his own screenplay, adapted from his and Meg Gardiner's #1 New York Times bestselling 2022 novel that functions as both prequel and sequel to the 1995 original.
- The source-cited novel examines Vincent Hanna's Chicago years, Neil McCauley's earlier criminal life, and Chris Shiherlis's survival after the original film's bank-robbery climax.
- Producers include Mann, Jerry Bruckheimer, and United Artists' Scott Stuber and Nick Nesbitt, with Eric Roth and Shane Salerno exec producing; Amazon MGM will release the film theatrically.
- The original 1995 'Heat' grossed over $187 million worldwide — what the source notes would be close to the $400 million range if released today — and starred Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.
Why it matters: Amazon MGM is stacking a prestige package around Mann's long-awaited sequel, with DiCaprio, Bale, and Clarke all in orbit for a film based on a #1 NYT bestseller. A theatrical release signals the studio treating this as a tentpole, not a streaming-only product, and the Clarke-Mann reunion adds directorial continuity to the project. With the original 1995 Heat grossing $187M worldwide — roughly $400M in today's terms per the source — the IP has clear box-office precedent.
