Leonardo DiCaprio rumoured for Heat 2 despite MAJOR budget concerns

Michael Mann has submitted a revised script for Heat 2 to Warner Bros. but the studio has big concerns over the budget.

His initial screenplay reportedly would have cost $200 million to produce and although he has brought down the cost to $170m, Warner Bros. are actively seeking co-producers and have reached out to Apple to split the cost.

What are the top 10 most popular shows on Amazon Prime right now?

Tuesday 10 February 2026, 14:38

What are the top 10 most popular shows on Netflix right now?

Monday 9 February 2026, 15:27

The first Heat movie was released in 1995 and told the story of a cat-and-mouse game between an experienced detective and a resourceful bank robber, played by Al Pacino and Robert De Niro respectively.

Mann penned a sequel to Heat in the form of a novel which acts as both a prequel and a sequel to the original movie.

No casting announcements have been made but Leonardo DiCaprio is apparently up for an unspecified role. Other actors linked include Adam Driver, Channing Tatum, Jeremy Allen White and Austin Butler.

Will Adam Driver play a young Robert De Niro?

When the novel came out, fans speculated that Adam Driver would make an ideal casting choice for the role of young Neil McCauley, and those rumours only intensified when Driver and Mann worked together on Ferrari.

Mann was asked late last year if Driver had been cast in Heat 2, but he played it coy.

"Perhaps. We don’t talk about that yet," he replied.

"Let me put it this way: Adam and I got along like a house on fire (on Ferrari). We have the same work ethic – which is pretty intense. We like each other, and we had a great time working together artistically.”