Heat 3 Plans Teased In New Report Ahead Of Long-Awaited Sequel To Robert De Niro’s Crime Thriller

Published Jul 30, 2026, 9:28 PM EDT Adam has been writing in the entertainment news space for over a decade. Beginning his career of covering film and TV at CinemaBlend, he has also appeared on The Flash Podcast and done several radio spots. Heat 2 hasn’t even begun filming yet, but there’s already talk about making Heat 3. Preparations are underway to roll cameras later this year for the film adaptation of director Michael Mann and author Meg Gardiner’s Heat 2 novel. This follows more than three decades after the original Heat, starring Robert De Niro, was released and became one of the best ‘90s thrillers. Now it’s been reported that Amazon MGM Studios is exploring making the Heat world even larger. According to The Wrap, the studio is plotting Heat 3, although it wasn’t clarified if this would be a direct sequel or some kind of spinoff. Regardless, these early discussions reportedly stem from why it was decided to set Heat 2 up at Amazon, with the article saying that this was “partially driven by the company’s ability to monetize the project long after the film’s original window expires.” It’s also unclear if a potential Heat 3 would be penned as a novel first like its predecessor, or if it would move ahead solely as a movie. Heat was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on December 15, 1995, with Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Val Kilmer comprising the lead trio. However, Warner Bros. reportedly declined to adapt Heat 2 following disagreements with Mann about the budget, though the studio allowed him to shop the project elsewhere. Then Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures were going to partner together on Heat 2, but after the former dropped out as well, Amazon swooped in to take over the sequel. Sony is still involved as an overseas distribution partner. Heat 2 will star Christian Bale and Leonardo DiCaprio as Detective Vincent Hanna and Chris Shiherlis, respectively. Those roles were previously played by Al Pacino and Val Kilmer, respectively, while Stephen Graham is reportedly in talks to succeed De Niro as Neil McCauley. Adam Driver is also said to be in negotiations to play Otis Wardell, the main villain, and several actors have been approached for the role of Charlene, Shiherlis’ estranged wife, whom Ashley Judd played in Heat. Like the book, the Heat 2 movie will function as both a prequel and sequel to Heat. In the first category, moviegoers will see what Hanna and McCauley were up to separately in Chicago in 1988, seven years before the first movie’s events. In the second category, Heat 2 delves into the immediate aftermath of Heat from 1995 to 1996, and then in 2000, when Hanna and Shiherlis’ paths cross again. Heat 2’s production follows three years after his last movie, the Driver-led Ferrari, was released. Heat 2 is slated to begin filming in November, but it hasn’t been assigned a release date yet. Mann is re-teaming with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced Mann’s first movie, 1981’s Thief, on the sequel. The news of Heat 3 being in development was accompanied by the reveal that Heat 2 will have a budget of $165 million, which would make this Mann’s most expensive movie yet, surpassing the $150 million spent on 2006’s Miami Vice. Release Date December 15, 1995 Runtime 170 minutes Director Michael Mann