With Heat 2 reportedly straining its budget at Warner Bros, Leonardo DiCaprio is talking with the studio about starring in the sequel to the blockbuster 1995 crime drama that starred Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. The original film was directed by Michael Mann and is considered a masterpiece in its genre.

In the works since 2022, Heat 2 has been in development for three years now, but shooting has not yet started. The film is based on a prequel/sequel novel that Mann co-authored with Meg Gardiner. Adam Driver has been in talks about playing the role of the young career criminal Neil McCauley that was played by De Niro in the 1995 release. McCauley’s nemesis, the veteran LAPD detective Vincent Hanna was played by Al Pacino.

Critic Roger Ebert, who called the Heat script “uncommonly literate,” wrote that “it’s not just an action picture. Above all, the dialogue is complex enough to allow the characters to say what they’re thinking: They are eloquent, insightful, fanciful, poetic when necessary. They’re not trapped with cliches.”

News about the budgetary issues for Heat 2 were revealed by Matthew Beloni in his “What I’m Hearing” newsletter published by Puck. Belloni reported that Mann’s original budget of $200 million was whittled down to $170 million but Warner Bros. still thinks that figure to be excessive. The original Heat grossed $187 million on a $60 million budget, equivalent to $400 million in 2025 dollars.

Warner Bros. is leery of the deal because Mann’s two most recent films, Blackhat and Ferrari, had relatively lackluster performances at the box office. According to Belloni, Warner Bros. is open to cofinancing the sequel with another studio or a streaming platform, possibly Apple, with whom the script has been shared.

Besides De Niro and Driver, other actors reportedly being considered for Heat 2 include Ana de Armas, Jeremy Allen White, Austin Butler, and Channing Tatum. No date has yet been announced for its release.

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