After months of rumors, Christian Bale has confirmed he will be part of Michael Mann’s Heat 2 cast, joining Leonardo DiCaprio. Bale dropped the news while appearing on the Jake’s Takes podcast.
Bale said that shooting is expected to begin “soon” in Chicago, but didn’t reveal further details. It’s unclear what role he’ll be taking, but DiCaprio is expected to play Chris Shiherlis, originally played by Val Kilmer in the 1995 classic.
Adam Driver and Stephen Graham are also meant to have undisclosed roles in the film, with others including Ana de Armas, Austin Butler, and Bradley Cooper’s names mentioned but unconfirmed.
Heat 2 is based on Mann’s novel, taking place across two time periods, acting as a prequel and sequel to the 1995 film with young versions of the characters played by Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, and Val Kilmer. In the first period, Chris Shiherlis tries to escape the LAPD after the robbery gone wrong, making his way to Southern Asia. The other time period is in 1988 Chicago, as McCauley and Shiherlis and their crew nearly encounter Detective Hannah as he pursues a violent gang of home invaders.
Amazon MGM recently scooped up the rights to Heat 2 through its United Artists banner. Having a pair of Oscar winning actors in DiCaprio and Bale is huge, and could justify the reported $170M price tag. The heavy cost is what caused Warner Bros. to ultimately pass on the film.
