At long last, Michael Mann’s Heat 2 seems to be heading for a 2026 production start. At a press conference in Lyon for the Lumiere Film Festival, where he is receiving an award, Mann confirmed the movie is underway at Amazon/MGM and that it would be receiving a theatrical release. However, comments (excerpted by Variety) he made about the use of AI have proven controversial, with him noting “aging and de-aging may be very important in the next film.” However, Mann also warns that he’s not one to use technology gratuitously, saying, “When I have a dramatic need or esthetic need for it, then I go deep into what I need.”
Now, some may think that means Mann is going to be using AI to de-age original Heat cast members like Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro, both of whose characters appeared as young men in Mann’s book version of Heat 2. That’s highly unlikely, with it sounding a lot more like Mann will use it for small tweaks. You see, Heat 2 – a killer read – takes place in three periods. It’s a highly ambitious story serving as a prequel and direct sequel to Heat. Part of the book takes place in 1988, as Neil McCauley (played by DeNiro originally) assembles his crew for the first time, while Vincent Hanna (Pacino’s role) tracks a home invader/rapist named Otis Wardell, who is the book’s main antagonist. The next part takes place in 1995, in the aftermath of the film, with Chris Shiherlis (the book’s protagonist – played by Val Kilmer in the original) fleeing Los Angeles, before picking up in 2000, when Shiherlis is embedded in an Asian crime syndicate while Hanna tracks a returning Wardell.
What I think Mann is going to do is use AI to de-age actors so they can convincingly play that twelve-year span, rather than use it to de-age either Pacino or DeNiro. If DiCaprio’s casting comes through, he has to play Shiherlis from his twenties to mid-forties, which will be a challenge. So AI de-aging could definitely help in that regard. As for Vincent Hanna, if they follow the book, he will have the most physical role, so they’ll have to cast someone probably not too far off from the age Pacino was in the first movie (mid-fifties). So, in that regard, using AI to de-age actors to cover a twelve-year span makes perfect sense.
If I were casting Heat 2, my picks would be either Leo or Austin Butler for Chris, Oscar Isaac for Vincent, Jon Bernthal for McCauley, and Bradley Cooper—playing way against type—as Wardell (who will be a choice villain role for anyone who takes it on).
What do you think? Should Mann ignore the AI de-aging and have audiences suspend disbelief? Let us know in the comments.
