What an announcement by Michael Mann! The acclaimed director has just twitted that a sequel to the action masterpiece HEAT, is on its way. “HEAT 2 is coming soon” Mann confirmed and attached a picture of the famous scene from the robbery. This is going to be a hell of an action movie.

“HEAT 2 is coming soon”

Yep, these are the words that came from director Michael Mann — he just twitted this, and with a picture from the famous and well-crafted robbery that we all remember. Although this is not a surprise, this is the first time Mann is actually confirming the upcoming sequel. No timeline has been declared yet, but “Coming soon” is…coming soon. Furthermore, Mann stated that HEAT 2 is going to be epic, and related to the first film. Check out the picture posted by Mann:

HEAT 2 is coming soon.

Director Michael Mann

HEAT 1: Inspiration for action

For those who live inside a cave, we’ll just remind you that HEAT (1995) is an epic action film about highly specialized expert criminals and highly specialized expert policemen who are assigned to take them down. The film involved numerous Hollywood pros,  including director Michael Mann and cinematographer Dante Spinotti, ASC, AIC — doing some of the best work of their careers. HEAT was written and directed by Michael Mann. It features an ensemble cast led by Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, with Tom Sizemore, Jon Voight, and Val Kilmer in supporting roles. Mann wrote the original script for Heat in 1979, basing it on Chicago police officer Chuck Adamson’s pursuit of criminal Neil McCauley, after whom De Niro’s character is named. The script was first used for a television pilot developed by Mann, which became the 1989 television film L.A. Takedown after the pilot did not receive a series order. In 1994, Mann revisited the script to turn it into a feature film, co-producing the project with Art Linson. HEAT was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on December 15, 1995, and the rest is history. The film was praised for Mann’s direction and screenplay, action sequences, sound mixing, and the performances of Pacino and De Niro. Furthermore, HEAT was (and still is) a solid base for numerous inspirations. For instance, we wrote about The Town which implemented many of HEAT’s ideas and spirit.

A Milestone in action cinematography

Mann was super meticulous about the action scenes on HEAT. He hired security and elite forces specialists and ex-operators to instruct the actors to play accurately, mainly in the fighting scenes. That’s the reason Val Kilmer was able to replace the M-16 magazine in just 3 seconds. BTW, during the bank shootout, Mann wanted to realistically portray the damage caused by gunfire. Several of the cars used in the scene were taken to a firing range and shot up with real rifles. The bullet holes were then filled with Bondo, painted over, and then blown open with squibs on camera. Moreover, the camera work conducted by Dante Spinotti was phenomenal. Principal photography for Heat lasted 107 days during the summer of 1995. All of the shooting was done on location, due to Mann’s decision not to use a soundstage.

HEAT 2 is coming soon pic.twitter.com/Rpd5OH4oIG

— Michael Mann (@MichaelMann) July 30, 2022

ARRIFLEX 35-III as the action camera

The main camera for the action sequences was the ARRIFLEX 35-III. Its compactness allowed shooting fast by attaching the camera to Steadicam and running with it. The ARRIFLEX 35 III was released in 1979 and is based on the popular ARRIFLEX 35 IIC. The camera has a Super 35 gate and is capable of reaching up to 130 FPS.  Here’s the Tech Spec of HEAT (according to IMDB):

• ARRIFLEX 35-III, Panavision Primo, and E-Series Lenses
• Cine SL 35, Panavision E-Series Lenses
• Panavision Panaflex Lightweight, Panavision Primo, E-Series, and Super High-Speed Lenses
• Panavision Panaflex Platinum, Panavision Primo, E-Series, and Super High-Speed Lenses

What are we going to see in HEAT 2?

That’s a good question. First, there’s a chance that Spinotti will be back as a DP since he has worked many times with Mann and is considered to be his cinematic partner. Spinotti (1943) is still an active cinematographer, so let’s hope he will be back. There’s a chance of the appearance of Pacino and De-Niro as well. However, HEAT 2’s speculations are hard tasks. So let’s be patient here and wait for the trailer. One thing for sure—This is going to be a VERY anticipated sequel, not less than Top Gun: Maverick.