So… isHeat 2not happening? With the recent development that Warner Bros. is concerned about the high budget ofMichael Mann’s sequel toHeat, the director’s beloved 1995 crime epic, many hopeful cinephiles are beginning to feel dubious about its future, especially since Mann has struggled to get projects realized in the last two decades.According toMatt Bellonifrom Puck, Warner Bros. is balking at Mann’s $200 million budget estimate and suggested that he bring inLeonardo DiCaprio, one of the last remaining traditional A-list movie stars, to ensure its financial viability. Especially after Mann’s previous two films,BlackhatandFerrari, greatly underwhelmed at the box office.
Theuncertainties about the sequelaside, which also serves as a prequel to the events in the original, one thing remains clear:Austin Butlerneeds to play the younger version of Chris Shiherlis, Neil McCauley’s (Robert De Niro) partner in crime, played by the lateVal Kilmer. If the casting seems too obvious, that’s because it’s the only option.
‘Heat 2’ Appears To Be Stuck in Development Hell Despite Casting Rumors
After teasing it for years, Michael Mann, along with thriller authorMeg Gardiner, publishedHeat 2, Mann’s first novel, in 2022, which chronicles the formative years of Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) as a detective and Neil McCauley and Chris Shiherlis as thieves. The novel also flashes forward a decade later as we follow Vincent as he hunts down Chris immediately after his showdown with Neil in the film’s epic climax. Upon its release,Mann was determined to adapt his book into a feature film, which opened the floodgates for dream-casting scenarios.
Playing the younger versions of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, often considered the finest screen actors of their generation, would be the ultimate honor for any actor, despite the massive shoes that need to be filled. People immediately pointed toAdam Driver, who previously starred in thetitular role in Mann’sFerrari, as an ideal choice for Neil.Talks of Pacino returningto reprise his role as Vincent andAna de Armasplaying Elisa, Neil’s love interest in the book’s flashback chapters, are all conjecture, as all the actors decline to comment on any potential casting. With filming being repeatedly pushed back and Mann’s silence on the casting announcement, it’s apparent that budgetary concerns are lingering in its production.
Austin Butler Can Follow in the Footsteps of Val Kilmer in ‘Heat’
Despite all the various setbacks, the producers, financiers, and filmmakers behindHeat 2should agree that Austin Butler playing the young Chris Shiherlis, robbing banks with Neil in the past and evading Vincent Hanna’s pursuit in the present, is too exciting to pass up. Val Kilmer, who died in 2025, left an unmistakable presence in every film he appeared in, all the way through hisemotional send-off inTop Gun: Maverick.Kilmer embodied the truest sense of a “haunted cool,” characters who are naturally transfixing with their gaze alone, but deep down, they carry an agonizing degree of pathos, which, for better or worse, tied into his complicated personal life and health issues.
Kilmer’s most iconic films, notablyTop Gun,The Doors,Tombstone, andHeat, were all greatly affected by his distinct screen persona, whether by playing the foil to the glossy leading man inTom Cruiseorcapturing the mythic auraof self-destructive iconoclasts likeJim MorrisonandDoc Holliday. While Austin Butler has yet to match Kilmer’s impressive filmography, he’s already established an identifiable mode of acting that is evident in his performance asElvis PresleyinBaz Luhrmann’s eponymous biopic and Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen inDune: Part Two.Butler’s low, whispery voice is effortlessly slick, strengthening his position as a sturdy leading man in action and dramatic films and a romantic sex symbol, and his skills at modulating his voice give every utterance a feeling of musical poetry.
Chris Shiherlis was aquintessential Val Kilmer role. Robbing banks during the preliminary stage or the holdup itself was second nature to Chris, and he was the exact kind of loyal soldier solely devoted to the craft that Neil demands from his crew. Beneath his steely, unflappable disposition, Chris longed to settle down with his estranged wife, Charlene (Ashley Judd). The most touching moment inHeatcomes when Charlene, with a subtle gesture, warns her husband to run from the incoming police through the window.
The Bikeriders,Jeff Nichols' sweeping crime dramaabout the rise and fall of a Midwest biker gang,features a performance by Austin Butler that is filled with the elegant charm and disturbing emotional repression that is the closest example of theElvisactor doing a Val Kilmer impression. Crime films lean on our romantic interpretation of the criminal lifestyle, but Butler imbues this milieu with its tragic realities. Butler, starring inDarren Aronofsky’s upcomingcomedy-crime thriller,Caught Stealing, is mounting a case for being one of the signature faces of the genre.
Austin Butler, who has avoided the IP machine and consistently sought out the most interesting material and accomplished directors, would add another notch to his belt by playing the enduring and unforgettable Chris Shiherlis inHeat 2. We just need to make sure the film actually manifests.
