Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale have reportedly joined the cast of Heat 2 as Chris Shiherlis and Vincent Hanna.
The two A-listers finally finalized deals to appear as the two characters following months of rumors and speculation, according to TheWrap. The site said they reached deals “after a year of difficult negotiations,” with two of its sources saying deals are closed, while two others say negotiations are being finalized. A representative for Amazon MGM told the site that deals have not been finalized.
(TOP) Leonardo DiCaprio. Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP via Getty Images. (BOTTOM) Christian Bale. Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images.
The two characters both DiCaprio (Inception) and Bale (The Dark Knight) are set to portray first appeared in director Michael Mann’s original ’90s crime thriller, with Al Pacino previously playing Vincent Hanna and the late Val Kilmer playing Chris Shiherlis. Heat was known for its stacked cast, which also included Robert De Niro as Neil McCauley, Natalie Portman as Lauren, and Ashley Judd as Charlene Shiherlis, and it looks like Heat 2 will follow suit.
Today’s update for the prequel-sequel will see DiCaprio and Bale share a screen together – but they won’t be alone. The Wrap also reported that Adam Driver (Star Wars: Episode 8 – The Last Jedi) is “deep in negotiations” to play villain Otis Wardell in Heat 2. Stephen Graham, who recently walked away an Emmy winner for his role in Netflix’s Adolescence, is said to be in talks to take over De Niro’s role as Neil McCauley.
The report added that “a number of actresses” are circling for the role of Charlene, with other “A-list names” interested in joining Heat 2, too. Who these additional potential cast members are was not revealed, though Deadline reported in May that Jason Clarke (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) was being eyed for a role.
(TOP) Adam Driver. Photo by Aurore Marechal/Getty Images. (BOTTOM) Stephen Graham. Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images.
Mann first conceived his idea for a Heat prequel with a book that he announced back in 2016 and released in 2022. He’s wanted to turn it into a movie for some time, saying in 2023 that he had laid the groundwork for the project to be his next film.
“Meg Gardiner and myself wrote the novel Heat 2, which came out right when we were shooting Ferrari,” Mann said during a panel at Deadline’s Contenders London event that same year. “It did very well. I plan to shoot that next.”
Although story details have promised a Heat follow-up that explores events that happened both before and after the original story, progress on the movie has been slow going for the last few years. When Amazon signed on late last year, rumors that DiCaprio and Bale may join followed closely behind. Despite both actors publicly commenting on the movie in recent months, the details of their involvement have remained a mystery up to this point. The expectation is that filming will begin this November.
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Heat 2 currently has no release date, and considering it’s taken some time for the heist film-follow-up to get off the ground, it may be a while before we hear more on that front. Until then, you can read IGN’s review of its blu-ray release, which scored an 8/10.
(DiCaprio) Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images.
(Bale) Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images.
(Driver) Photo by Aurore Marechal/Getty Images.
(Graham) Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).