Stephen Graham has joined the cast of the long-awaited follow-up to Michael Mann’s crime classic Heat. Thirty-one years on from the original film, which starred Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Val Kilmer, Heat 2 is in the works from director Mann, based on the 2022 book of the same name he wrote with Meg Gardiner. After Christian Bale confirmed his involvement, and previous reports that Leonardo DiCaprio had signed on in an unknown role, Variety now reports that British actor Graham is the latest actor to join the movie.
Like the book, Heat 2 will flash backwards and forwards from the action of the 1995 film, therefore serving as both a prequel and sequel to the original. The publication reports that roles are yet to be confirmed, but that Graham, 53, is rumoured to be playing the younger version of De Niro’s character Neil McCauley. Bale is said to portray the young police detective Vincent Hanna, originally played by Pacino, while DiCaprio is taking on the role of Chris Shiherlis, first played by Kilmer.
In June, it had been reported that DiCaprio was unsure whether to play Kilmer or De Niro’s character, and that Adam Driver was also in the running to play the former. Many had expected he would take on De Niro’s character rather than his right-hand man Shiherlis, although Kilmer’s character is said to have an expanded role in the sequel that will require more scenes. While Adolescence star Graham has ended up taking on the role, Marriage Story actor Driver is said to still have a role in Heat 2, with Australian actors Jason Clarke and Odessa Young also reportedly joining the cast.
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Follows a group of high-end thieves in Los Angeles, Heat is regarded as one of the best films of the 1990s and one of the best crime thrillers ever, celebrated for both its acting and intense action sequences. Speaking about Heat 2 last year, Mann explained that he’d always planned to adapt the novel he co-wrote into a film, explaining that he was looking at it “possibly shooting it in 2026”. Bale confirmed his involvement earlier this year, saying: “Yeah, I’m doing it.
My god, nobody better than Michael Mann at doing a crime drama. Very excited about it.” He then joked, “Big, big shoes to fill. You know, Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock,” in reference to the totally unrelated 2013 police comedy The Heat.
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